Constellation
by Satashi
Summary: A Sequal to "Stardust". Now that Kim is learning the tricks of the trade, she must now try and juggle her newfound relationship in with her everyday tasks. Slice-of-life and romance/friendship centered.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a continuation of my story "Stardust" and picks up where it left off.

The thing about fall that I immediately noticed was the cool air in the morning. Although it came slowly at first, and the days were still warm, the mornings were starting to be more than a little chilly. As I walked out onto my porch with a coffee cup in hand, I looked over my fields. Abigail's additional help was clearly showing, and Leah even contributed with some signs that labeled my crops. Truthfully, my farm was looking fantastic now. My parents had written me a letter saying they would come by soon to check in on me, and I felt ready to accept them into my home. Finishing my coffee, I turned to walk back inside. My third step made the porch creak and my fourth made some rotten wood under it break and caused me to sink down to almost my knee.' _Great…_ '

 **Constellation**

 **By:**

 **Satashi**

I looked down at the porch and groaned softly to myself. I carefully braced and hoisted my leg out of the hole I had just made. Upon closer inspection, the wood was soft and had a few traces of what I could best guess as termites running around. "I didn't need this right now," I spoke softly, much to myself as well as the few Junimo that gathered around to see what the noise was. Heaving a sigh, I stood up completely and grabbed my dropped coffee mug.

The door opened up to me and made a soft slamming motion behind as it closed. Robin was still asleep at this hour, so I instead sat down at my computer to bring up a few porch pictures to look at. "I've always loved the really dark cherry red wood porches," I told my house mates as they gathered around. "But knowing how much my tools cost, I bet a whole porch like this would be completely out of my price range…"

I hummed softly to myself and tapped my fingers on the desk. "I bet I could bribe her with helping cut down a tree and maybe sawing the planks… I could also possibly trade out some stuff…Man I'm getting good at this." A half chewed pencil was grabbed from a cup and plans were sketched roughly on a scrap sheet of paper. "Guess I need to take some measurements, huh?"

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity," a new voice chimed in. As I turned, I saw Abigail walking into the living room with a half teasing, half worried look on her face. "I saw the hole, everything okay? Didn't get hurt did you?"

"Just my pride," I answered back with a light smile. "I'm not sure what the damage is though. It could be just a normal rotted out board or..." The expression she made let me knew where I was going with this. "Yeah, my whole house could be in danger."

"Didn't you once tell me that the Junimo helped out with that kind of thing? This place was a disaster before you got here, but it's improved quite a bit."

"Yeah, they've been doing a lot, but even with Robin's help it's still an old house. It's not made for a modern girl like me."

"Modern?" She asked, quirking up an eyebrow and crossing her arms. "Which part of you is modern? Your farming status, your ranch house, or your nature infused mana that would be suffocated in the city?"

"Touché." Leaning back into my chair, I looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder if I can just upgrade sections at a time...?" The idea made me perk up a little. I'd love some granite counter tops, maybe some new wallpaper, an expansion wouldn't be bad, and-"

"Whoa! What about your rotting porch?" Abigail interrupted, bringing me back to reality. "One thing at a time."

"Yeah... Yeah, you're right." Closing my laptop, I stood and walked over to greet her properly. "Thanks again for coming to help. How much longer now, until the guild lets you start working again?"

"Two weeks. Although I'm in good shape from working with you on your farm, I'll need to play it safe for a while. Ryou said he'd give me a few sparring sessions to get my mind right, but until then I'm going to keep to the first floors."

"How is he anyway? I haven't seen him in the guild for a bit?"

"He's in the desert nearby. A new cave was found there and mining corporations are fighting each other over it. I hear it's densely packed and even has rare metals. Joja snatched him up almost immediately, he's working full time as a bodyguard to the miners."

Bringing a hand to my chin, I thought about it. Ryou was so skilled that even mega corporations like Joja would hire him to make sure their workers stayed safe. "I wonder how many people are there..." Ideas started coming to my head again. "Joja here in town probably supplies them as they go by... So that means they'll need extra food..."

"Hey now, not going to undercut my dad are you?"

I laughed at the purple haired girl. "No, no! I was just thinking, you know, maybe they couldn't keep up. Here I am with some pretty hearty crops that just so happen to go right by your shop..."

"My dad could strike a deal with them to supply the left overs..."

"And I get my porch fixed before my parents come over!" We gave each other a high five. "Okay, I better get to work. What are your plans for the day?"

"Well honestly, I was thinking, maybe we could get a late start before we head out?" Her cheeks colored lightly and her voice was dipping dangerously into the seduction zone. I stepped back, only to bump against my table where my laptop was. She was already in front of me, hands going around my hips. Her eyes were soft and I felt my heart beating powerfully in my chest. "What do you think?"

"I...I don't know..." My breath faltered when hers started to brush against my neck. Ever since the moonlight jelly festival, and the night that followed it, Abigail had been much more...vocal about her desires. Although we hadn't found time to make a repeat of that time spent together, it wasn't from her lack of trying. "Abby..." Her strong arms lifted me and shifted my body easily, carrying me to my couch. "I should work..." My words were faltering though, and she knew it.

Before she could reply, her cell phone rang, startling her enough to halt her movements. "Who the heck would call me so early in the morning?" Curiosity got the best of her and she pulled her phone. "Mom?" She looked at me and I nodded at once. Things were still stressed in their relationship, so we both though this might be pretty important. With a press of a button, she was connected and held the device to her ear. "Mom? What's up?"

I couldn't hear her words, but Abigail's face told me it wasn't a very pleasant conversation. "Yeah, I'm at Kim's farm...Working of course...No, and that's not something you should-Mom!" She looked horrified. "It's six in the morning, I came here to work!" Her words made me laugh out a snort, which made my girlfriend give me a pout. "What...? No, I'm not going there. I don't care...I don't _care_ , mom! After what he did to Kim..."

Deciding to give her some privacy, I wiggled out from under her and went to my room to properly dress for the day. Emily had made me some new clothes for Fall, and I took advantage of them happily. The jeans were baggy and reinforced at the knees, paired with a zipper that let me turn them into shorts when it got too warm in the afternoon. My top was a three quarter length light shirt that had a crop top jacket over it, showing off a simple design of a smiley face. As I pulled my hair up into a ponytail, I began to notice that it was getting increasingly long. My bangs were over my nose and pretty much long enough to tuck behind my ears. They had been bothering me recently, as they always fell into my field of view when leaning over. Despite this, I've never asked anyone in town who could cut my hair for me. I would have to get on that, and soon.

When Abigail came into my bedroom, I could tell her mood was ruined. "The Wizard wants to see me."

The words were hard to swallow. Not a month and a half ago, the man had tried to erase my memories to hide an affair that resulted in the birth of Abigail. That hadn't ended well and I haven't heard from him sense, despite him living so close to me and my usual routes. I couldn't care less about seeing him, as my magic was all self-taught as it was, but Abigail was... more dependent on hers. "What do you want to do?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"That's not what I asked." I let her sit next to me and took her hand in mine. "Abby, I don't like the guy, nor do I like the idea of him being around you." Before she could say anything, I went on with my thoughts. "However! I do understand that your _job_ is in the mines, or on the countryside as a hired sword. There are wars being fought overseas as well as domestic battles to ensure that we humans aren't bothered by monsters. We need people like you, _I_ need people like you, to keep us safe. If that means swallowing my pride and telling you to go back for more lessons on your magic, then... then so be it."

Her eyes looked into mine for a long time before a defeated sigh came from her lips. "I know... It's just that... I get so _angry_ when I think about what happened." She took a deep, steadying breath. "But you're right. I should have been training more than I have been over these past few weeks. I can't afford to let myself get rusty and put you in danger."

"I get put in danger every time we go into the mines," I reminded her. "It just doesn't feel that way since you're with me."

"Well then!" Standing, she turned to give me a thumbs up. "I guess that settles it then. I'll go to his tower and see what he wants. I'll text you later, okay?"

"Sure thing." I stood as well and walked with her outside, splitting up at my watering station. Once she was a little ways off, I turned to my gear and strapped it onto my back. _'Maybe a little more mana today, to jump start my plans..._ '

* * *

By the time I gave myself a break, I realized it was already way past my usual part of the day when I had lunch. But the sun was starting to set sooner and sooner, and my stomach often didn't remind me until I was already starving, so my internal clock was getting more and more off. Paired with the sun being behind gray clouds all day long, I had no idea what time it actually was. Heaving a sigh, I headed back to the house to see what I could scrounge up for myself. As I did so, though, the hole in the porch got my attention from a distance. Instead of continuing on, I gave a sharp whistle for my horse and jumped onto him as he slowed down next to me. "Let's go to Robin's," I asked of him.

The ride didn't take too long, as Okami had decided that he wanted a good run. This led me to bracing myself and holding onto his mane extra tight. As the house came into view, I saw Sebastian walk outside and head for his favorite smoking tree. He heard Okami's hooves trekking upon the ground and he turned to face me, a little look of guilt on his face. "Evening, Kim."

"Evening?" I asked of him as I looked to the sky. Did I misplace the sun in my estimation? "Wow, no wonder I'm hungry."

"Did you skip eating again?" I noticed him putting something into his pocket as he talked; probably his cigarettes. "What did Maru tell you about that?"

"Yeah, yeah, and Abby too. I have to keep my energy up. Don't worry, I'm a big girl. Not like I'm going to-"

"Pass out on your field?" He finished for me with a little ire in his voice. "Kim, you need to take care of yourself. You have people who care for you, you know?"

I gave him a puzzled look, which made him turn away and look over the small lake by their house. "Something bothering you?"

"No...Yeah..." He leaned against the bark on the tree behind him and sighed out. I dismounted from Okami and gave him a pat to show it was okay if he wandered around. He didn't protest my joining him, leaning against the opposite side of the tree and staying silent. It only took a few minutes before he finally gave in and reached into his pocket, tossing the pack of cigarettes over his shoulder for me to fumble and catch. "Here."

"A new pack?" I asked him curiously, looking over the sealed box to see if I was supposed to see something special on it.

"I've had it for a week," He grumbled.

It took me a while to catch on, but once I did I couldn't help but give an amazed laugh. "Wow, really? You quit!?"

"Quitting." He snatched it back from me and tore open the seal.

"Hey," I put my hand on his and he froze. It was then that I noticed his eyes were bloodshot and his hair a right mess. "Oh my..."

He flinched and groaned before gripping the pack and smashing them into his fist. A flick of his wrist made him fling the crumpled pack into the water. "Why is this so _hard!?_ " The words were almost a scream of desperation. "I can't sleep, I can't eat, I'm pissy as hell, I can't focus on my programming, I lost a client because I had too many bugs in my coding, My dad is pissing me right the hell off, Maru got accepted into a university and everyone is pressuring me to get on with my life and move out and go to college, and I've been working for _years_ but do they see that? They just keep on and on and..." He stopped his rambling and walked back to the tree where I was. I knew that look and moved for him, allowing him to punch the tree once, in a good, solid, thwack sound that shook the leaves. "I should just move to the city... leave everything here... Start over..."

I heard that line before. We've been here before, in this very spot, a few months ago. He said the same thing, and gave me the same look as he is now. He wanted advice, but was too stubborn to admit it. I had done what he was dreaming about, and he wanted me to tell him it was possible. I took a breath and considered it. "Would that make you happy? Living in a little apartment that ate up most of your monthly income? Surrounded by people, lights, noise, music, kids screaming and playing?"

"Better than here," he sighed out and slumped down to sit at the base of the tree. I joined him once again and hugged my knees as a cold blast of mountain air came across us.

"Do you want that, or do you want privacy and respect?" I asked after a few moments of silence between us. He didn't reply at first, so I continued. "I think you just want to be looked at as an adult. Have people understand you and what you do. You don't need a dozen people around you, you need a few that trust you. Sebastian, if you want to move to the city, then move. But don't look for an escape."

"...Want to go on a ride with me?"

"Where to?"

"Anywhere."

"...Sure." He rolled up to his feet and offered me a hand, which I accepted. I called to Okami to go ahead and go home and he bolted off on his own, enjoying a nice free run around. The garage opened up and Sebastian climbed on at once, walking it out. The rev was loud when he cranked it, and I straddled the seat behind him, balling my ponytail up into a bun to fit the helmet on. By now I was used to this, and managed to securely fasten it without his assistance. After only a short question if I was ready or not, we took off down the driveway, not even closing the garage behind us.

The city wasn't too terribly far away, but it was already starting to get dark by the time we got there. The ride had been quiet, but in a comfortable way. I knew this was how he cleared his head, and could also tell that he just wanted a friend with him as he did so. When we finally did reach the neon lights of the bustling city, I felt strangely nostalgic. "Where to?" He asked me, his voice coming into a small intercom in my helmet.

"Go straight," I said without even thinking about it. "A left at the red light." He followed my instructions for several minutes without question. It wasn't until I told him to park that he finally asked.

"Where are we?" He took off his helmet and looked at the sprawling complex in front of us. The building was over thirty stories tall, and extremely long. Each window looked almost identical, the same boring pattern repeated over and over again.

"Home," I answered softly. He looked over at me and then back to the place in front of himself.

"Well then... Welcome home, Kim."

Together, we walked to the front desk inside the building and the lady there instantly recognized me. We had been friends and had even gone out on the town a few times together while I stayed. She used to work at Joja corp with me, before I had left. "Kim!? Is that you?"

"Nagi?" I looked at her in shock before finally smiling. "What are you doing here!?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" She had shoulder length blondish brown hair and blue eyes. From her outfit, I could tell that she worked there now.

"I was just in the neighborhood. I wanted to see my old apartment complex. Oh! I'm sorry, this is Sebastian." My friend held out his hand and they shook.

"Wow, Kim, good find! He's a cutie!" She wasn't bashful with the compliment at all, and I chose to ignore it when I saw Sebastian's eyes widen slightly.

"Anyway, don't suppose there's a snowball's chance that apartment twenty thirty-four is open, is there?"

Nagi started clicking around on her mouse. "Well what do you know? It was rented out a little after you left it seems, but it was only a half year contract. It's vacant right now."

I was astonished. "May I go look?" She raised an eyebrow and I cleared my throat. "Totally thinking about renting it again." That did the trick and she gave me a key card along with a wink. "Thanks, Nagi." I got a smile and a wave before leading my friend over to the elevator. When the doors closed, I hit my floor button and felt the familiar feeling in my stomach as we ascended.

"Nice place," He finally spoke out, watching the buttons light up in turn for the floors. "I didn't think it'd be so well up kept."

"It's not bad. A little pricey, but I could deal with it."

"Your old job paid well, huh?"

The doors opened and we started to walk down the hallway that I had been down countless times over several years. "It did. It was easy, too. I could afford almost anything I wanted, had a car, a comfy plush desk job at a cubicle... Friends, co-workers..." I was repeating everything I had thought to myself months ago when I was looking at the officially served papers that held my grandfather's will.

"Why would you ever leave that for Pelican Town, of all places?" Sebastian stood next to me as we stopped in front of a door. My door.

Now that we were back here again, standing at this spot, my answer faltered. Why did I leave? "I wanted more." The words came out without my knowledge. The key card was swiped on the lock by the handle and the little light turned from red to green. Taking a breath, I turned the handle and stepped back into my old place.

The apartments were pre-furnished, something that was a positive as well as a negative for most people. For me it was great, as it meant that I didn't have to buy everything when I had left my family. Now, looking back into the place where I had lived for a few years, I suddenly felt homesick. Everything was pretty much exactly how I had left it. The feel of the carpet was the same, the smell was the same, and the dark room before I flicked on the lights was all the same too. As everything was illuminated, I felt a strange desire in me. I didn't have to work myself to death here. It was cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I had a modern television, cable, space for my game collection and systems. I got a sudden slap in the face with the realization that since I moved I had pretty much given up on the passion of playing old games, collecting them, talking about them to the nerdy friends at work...

"What are you thinking?" Sebastian asked lightly, bringing me back to the present.

"I... I don't know." We walked around together as I touched the furniture, trailing my finger over it as we passed. "I had my game collection over there," I pointed at the side wall where an empty book case was. "I would always toss my shoes off there," again I pointed, this time at the floor. "I'd come home, drop my purse, kick off my shoes, turn on the lights, and start on dinner..." I moved along to the kitchen and turned the light on there as well. "I cooked here..." The fridge was opened and I looked at the empty insides. "My food, obviously...I kept my cereal up top." I got on my tiptoes and opened the cabinet up there a moment before letting it close. Together we walked around the living room as I reminisced. I took him to the guest room, where I had my laptop set up and where I spent most of my time. Then we made it to the bedroom.

The mattress was new, as it still had the plastic wrap on it, and I felt a sting of something inside me that I didn't even think about much before now. I had wanted to lay in that bed again. The way it was perfectly dipped for my body. The soft, plush pillow top. I had wanted to replace my old bed at once at the farm, before the Junimo worked their magic into it. Even still, I wanted something more modern, and seeing my old one here in front of me just made me ache. "I had everything here," I spoke again, sitting on the bed and looked at him. "Every day was so easy..."

Sebastian looked around a little bit more before sitting on the other side of the bed. "But you left."

"I left," I confirmed, even though we both knew it. "Sebastian, I know you're an introvert, and like your privacy. You wouldn't find it here. Everyone knew everyone on the floors. We walked by each other every day. But it was an empty friendship. We shared a floor of a building, and that was pretty much it, despite being so close. You would become lonely after a while... Just like I did." I suddenly remembered Leah and Abigail, Robin and Pierre. The sweet old couple in the town, the library keeper, the blacksmith... Each one I had a personal connection with. Everyone's face flashed in my mind for a brief moment before I smiled softly to myself. "Sebastian, you don't need this kind of life. You should stay."

"...Yeah, maybe you're right." He finally agreed with me. "Programming lets me work at home, no matter where that home is. The little town over by us is pretty big as well, and I could get a lot of small business customers there if I tried... Heck, maybe I could even have a little house built for myself somewhere on the mountain that my parents live on."

"Yeah... Come on, 'Bastian." I stood up. "Let's go."

"You got it." He followed me out of the small apartment and I stood at the doorstep of it, looking at my old home. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I smiled softly to myself. With a soft, almost inaudible click, the lights turned off once more.

* * *

By the time we made it back to Pelican Town, I was feeling more and more homesick, but for my new place. I had ideas running wild in my head, plans for ways to improve my life and my farm. The little outing had done wonders for me, as well as Sebastian. He was uplifted again, and his withdrawal from nicotine had died down once more. It was already past midnight when we made it home, and he dropped me off at my front door, where all the lights were still on. "Thank you for today," I told him happily. "I thought we were going for you, but turns out we both got something from it, huh?"

"Seems that way." He adjusted the strap to keep his spare helmet attached to the seat behind himself. "See ya around, Kim." His words were a lot lighter than this evening, and it looked as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. His bike carefully moved around in the driveway before speeding up, the sounds of his gears shifting echoing all around me.

As I turned to go into my house, I saw Leah and Abigail standing at the door. Each one looked positively worried and a little upset at the same time. Before I could make it up the steps of my porch, Abigail was outside and grabbing me into a hug. "Where have you _been_!?" She demanded of me. "Why were you out so late with Sebastian!? Why did you leave your phone and purse at home!?"

I hugged her back and felt her body shake in my arms. "I'm sorry, I didn't plan on this." It was a little odd, comforting my girlfriend who usually protected me with her life. Leah came up to me as well, and I could tell she was very displeased at my up and leaving without any warning. "Hey Leah, I'm sorry. I didn't expect you two to worry, or even know I was gone." It was true. We didn't all talk every single day, and we still had our respective lives. Abigail took online courses for college, Leah still did her artwork, and I had my farm work. "If I had known, I would have asked to come back here to grab my phone first."

"I understand..." Leah sighed. "We overreacted, but you don't have the best record when it comes to taking care of yourself." My stomach growled at me at that moment and I felt a wince of pain in it. "Did you eat today?"

"No?" I offered lamely, grunting as Abigail squeezed me harder. "Sebastian had just finished dinner when I met him, I guess he assumed I had eaten already."

"The sun isn't out, you're spending your mana on your plants, and you didn't eat?" Abigail asked me, voice a cross between stern and worried. "Kim, so help me, if you pass out again..."

I tried to defend myself, but looking at the two in front of me, I knew I just couldn't. I had met Leah when I was starving, and gotten to know her when I was sick in her bed. I met Abigail after almost dying in the mines near the adventure's guild, and even then I had them both take care of me on more than one occasion. "Well... I guess I can't really say anything, huh?" I was let go of and Leah moved forward to hug me as well. Her figure was so much smaller than Abigail's. She was so skinny and petite, but not in an unhealthy way. Her embrace felt different as well. It was loving, supportive, and mature.

Looking at the two girls in front of myself, I gave a small sigh to them. "How about we go inside? Abigail, are you okay staying?"

"Yeah. Although my parents aren't really happy about it."

Leah led the way, pulling on my hand. "Come on, I made you dinner. It'll be fine once we heat it back up."

I wanted to groan at the idea of a meatless dinner, but held it back. I was slowly becoming used to skipping protein every couple meals, even if I didn't completely like it. Despite this, the feeling of home washed over me at once. My slightly cold log cabin, the Junimo dancing around the broken porch outside as they tried to do something about it, the scent of cedar and hardwood cherry from my furniture... and the two girls who somehow managed to both steal my heart at the same time. Abigail was still pouting at me, sitting down at the table in her usual spot while Leah took a plate from the refrigerator to warm up for me. They both gave me a look, and I couldn't help but smile lightly. "I'm home."


	2. Chapter 2

My mom's voice flooded my ear the moment I had swiped the answer tab on my phone. Before I could even greet her, the peppy voice of one of my parents was already going almost non-stop. I had to retreat from the front of the house, where Robin was busy ripping up my porch with a crowbar, so I could try and focus on what was being said. Several times I tried to say something, but each time she would launch into something else. Question after question was fired off, before I couldn't take it anymore. "Mom! Let me answer!"

 **Constellation II**

 **By: Satashi**

"Well if you called more than every five months, we wouldn't have to cram it in all at once!" She told me back, voice playful. "Now, start going, daughter of mine!"

"Where to start?" I looked around the bedroom and at all the pictures I had started putting on the walls. It was already getting cramped in the little room, and even my old apartment had more space.

"Have you met a nice young boy yet?"

"Mooooom." I put my hand over my face. "I told you, I'm not looking to start a family!"

"But you're getting older and-"

"I'm twenty-four!" I countered, shocked. "I'm _not_ old!"

"But your biological clock is ticking and-" Groaning, I let my head thunk against the door frame quite a few times as she continued. "And grandchildren are _always_ welcome-" She was still going. I let her get it out of her system before finally taking a breath and dropping the bomb.

"I'm not dating a guy."

"Well, don't worry, being single and ready to mingle is-"

"I didn't say I was single." I tried to begin. How do you even describe this? ' _Hey Mom, I'm dating two girls? Yes, at the same time?_ ' I looked at a Junimo that was trying it's best to climb up my blue jean overalls. ' _Oh, and by the way, I can see magical little creatures, grow plants by willing it, and-oh yeah- did I mention I was a mage? Just the normal stuff._ '

"Well, that's fine too! Adoption is always a nice way to..." She went silent a moment. "Hold on dear, your Dad wants to talk to you.

"Oh please no, I can't- hiiiiiiiiii Daddy!" I stomped my foot, making my friend almost fall. "No, no, I'm just fine! Yes, I'm keeping my place clean." I glanced over at a pizza box on the floor that might possibly be a week old now. Penny would scold me for sure for that one. "Yes, I'm totally being safe. You know me, boring old Kim. Nope, not with any guys!" I felt my cheeks color darkly as I recalled the night of the moonlight jellies. "Yes, I'm dating someone. I'll introduce you when you're here... Her name? Er...No, I'm not making this up! I'm dating! It's just... complicated... No, it's _not_ a one sided relationship! It's... It's so good it's a three sided relationship!" I bit my lip, wondering if he'd take the hint. When he didn't, I let out a little sigh.

The next twenty minutes was spent catching them up as best I could over the phone. They were really looking forward to coming over for a while, and I set a date for three weeks from now. That should give me plenty of time to prepare, get my house fixed up, clean, and mentally brace myself for the looks when I introduced Both Leah and Abigail as my girlfriends.

"And oh yeah, we sold your car finally!" The words made me stop all at once, gripping my phone tighter.

"Someone finally bought it!? Why didn't you tell me sooner!?" I picked up the Junimo, who was already on my chest, and ran to the living room so I could check my laptop.

"Well, Honey, the check just cleared, it should be in your bank account now. Nice guy, paid for it all at once." My Dad was explaining to me. His words started to fade as I focused on my screen, tapping in my password and clicking several times. When my balance came up, I felt like screaming in victory. Everyone in Pelican town primarily used cash, save for a few, so I got out of the habit of checking my account.

"Daddy, I have to run... Yeah... Yeah, okay, sounds great! Three weeks from now, yeah. Mmhmm. You too. Tell Mommy I- yes I heard her. Okay...okay...okay, Daddy... Yes... Bye-bye." I clicked off my phone and looked at the screen in front of myself, eyes wide. "No way..."

At that moment, I heard my front door open and Robin came in with a small smile on her face. "Good news, the porch was built separate and was treated differently than the rest of your house. You just need to replace the wood outside and you'll be fine."

"Awesome!" I got to my feet, grinning at her. I was just about to try my luck at bartering with her when she beat me to the punch.

"I actually just so happen to have a surplus supply of building wood right now." She smiled and put a hand onto her hip. "I heard about the new area in the desert that was found, the one that supposedly has really good minerals in it. I had thought that a few companies might set up a temporary camp there so I jumped the gun and worked myself and my few helpers to the bone to get some wood ready... Turns out they had already struck up a contract with another company for the cheaper style tents and stuff. You know Joja."

"Oh yeah, all about the bottom line... Which I understand." She nodded in agreement. "So! How much did you get? Enough to already fix the porch?" My goals were already shot, and the money I had just received would have to be used up it seemed.

"Honestly? I have enough to fix your deck and even build you a spare room add on to your house!" She laughed at her joke but trailed off when I didn't join in on her. "Kim?"

"Could you add on to my house?" I asked instead, looked at her with wide eyes. "I mean like, for real, add things onto it? Doesn't that take a crew or something?"

Robin blinked at me a few times before crossing her arms. "I have a crew. Well, we're more like a wood working guild. We share tools, knowledge, and jobs. If I wanted to take on something on a larger scale, I would split the earnings with them. Helps us all in our down time, you know?" When I nodded, she raised an eyebrow at me. "Kim, adding onto your house is crazy expensive. I wouldn't be able to talk the guys into working for produce, even if that's something I would do."

We both knew our trades were in the best interest of both of us. I got guaranteed sells at regular intervals and it really didn't take much more time at all to water a crop for someone as it did to water the one literally right next to it. Weeding was very minimal on my farm, thanks to the magically infused soil and the Junimo. I also sold to her at the price she'd pay Pierre, so I got more money for my wares as well. Robin, on the other hand, got promised deliveries of fresh food for her whole family that she didn't have to take out of her budget, which meant more spending money for home. In all, she was my favorite person to trade with, and we kept it so openly fair between us that we didn't feel the need to wonder if we were getting a good deal or not. "How much?" My words left my mouth before I could talk myself out of it.

The reddish brown haired girl looked surprised a moment. "What do you want?"

"A master bedroom. Like a legit real one. A bathroom attached, really big, a shower stall and one of those really deep bath tubs. Made to match my house as best you can, and I guess at the end of the hallway, next to my current bedroom?" My house was pretty much a one bedroom place, with a bathroom that was in the hallway leading back to where I slept. I had a tiny guest room, but in all honesty it was more of a larger storage area than anything else. If I could get a new room, then my old one would be free for...

"Kim? You're blushing, you feeling okay?" Her words made me wave my hands out at her. "I mean you could buy yourself a truck for what it would cost. Don't you need one?"

I had thought about that, and honestly I straight up didn't have the time to make deliveries, not the guaranteed cash flow to pay a driver. In that stead, I decided to be a local pickup only farm, aside from the monthly farmer's market held in town. "I just sold my old car," I revealed with a proud smile. "Give me the best deal you can make without selling yourself short, and I'll take out my purse." The look on her face was priceless.

* * *

I found myself on the way to Leah's cabin when I was done talking with Robin. I felt incredibly proud of myself for the negotiations, and just the idea of adding onto my home made me ecstatic. Suddenly I felt like I was taking control of my life in a way that made me so very proud of myself. With this new addition, I would have more room for guests to come over, a proper place for sleeping, and a bath tub that I could soak my tired body in after a long day at work.

As my horse Okami reached Leah's little cabin, I caught sight of her in the kitchen. A small blush came over my cheeks as well, when I thought about how she would have a place to do things while staying over with me. No more being cramped around the small living room table, stressing over not getting paint or wood chips everywhere in the house. Instead, she could come over whenever she felt in the mood and I could maybe even watch her...

Shaking my head, I tried to clear the thoughts and focus on the present. I was just about to hop off Okami to visit, but the door opened to reveal a very pleased looking Leah. "Kim!" She jogged over to me and raised her hand in question. I took it and helped her jump up to get behind me. "Can you take me to town?"

"Certainly!" I agreed at once, guiding my horse to change course and start a gallop to the village. "What are we after?"

"Olive oil, I ran out. Need it to make my salad dressing." Her hands went around my waist to steady herself. I felt my muscles tense up at once, and from the slight giggle behind, could tell she did too. "Hey there," she teased into my ear. "Don't be nervous."

"I-I'm not." I stuttered, and blushed from it, glad she couldn't see my face. "Just... still not used to it."

"Hopefully we'll stay like that for a long time." She kissed my cheek. "I got little butterflies when I saw you riding up, honestly." Again I was amazed at how mature and calm she was about our relationship, being able to oh-so-casually make my stomach turn flips and my cheeks color. "I thought it was our destiny to go get my ingredients for the salad dressing of fate."

"You been reading Elliot's stuff again?"

"Yeah, he just finished another chapter. It's killing me to wait to see how it'll end. He's getting really close, I think. Oh! I haven't told you yet!"

"Told me?" I looked over my shoulder and blinked at her.

"I got a letter back! From the place I sent your picture off to!" The look on her face could only be described as 'sheer delight'. Her eyes were wide and excited, with a smile going ear to ear. "It was in the mail this morning. I tried calling you, but got your voice mail."

"My parents called me. I have some news for you as well. How about we go to your place, and tell each other one after another?" My idea seemed to please her, and we hopped off at the general store. I found myself almost willing her to speed up as she grabbed a few things and paid. Pierre was almost dazed today, and I knew Abigail must be with the Wizard again. She had gone from sun up to sun down every day since we last talked. She hadn't talked much in our group chat besides letting us know when she was eating, about to sleep, waking up, or walking home. I was a little worried for her, but knew she would let us know immediately if anything was going on.

After making our way back to Leah's house, I looked over the lake and towards the tower in the distance. It was still cloudy, giving it an almost foreboding feeling. I knew Abigail was training herself for her return to the guild, but part of me was still a bit worried. She was still so new to the whole adventurer thing, and soon would be getting jobs outside of town that would take her away for a few days at a time. She would go fight, come home and play video games, spend time with me, and then go fight some more. Part of me wondered if she could handle it, while another part knew she could. It was a weird feeling.

"What are you thinking about?" Leah asked me softly, following my gaze. "Abby?"

"...Yeah." I didn't feel bad for thinking about her while I was with Leah, but my stomach still didn't feel right. Was I worried? I never really thought about it before. Abigail was always the one to protect me. Now that I had admitted liking her, was that making me become more scared when she was in danger?

The first few droplets of rain started to come down, making us jump back to reality. I allowed her to hop down first and followed her before giving Okami a pat on the neck. "May want to get under Marnie's overhang if you want to, buddy." He tapped the ground with his hoof and turned to trot off to shelter. Upon entering the little cabin, I couldn't help but give a little shiver. "The wind really does cool your place down," I mused out, rubbing my arm.

"It's wonderful in the summer, but the wintertime is super cold." She moved over to a fireplace and started tossing a few smaller logs into it to light. "It's fall, and when it rains, the temperature drops like crazy... then tomorrow it'll be sweating all over again."

"Tell me about it." I watched the fire ignite and the warmth it provided immediately made me feel better. "So! Letter!" I clapped my hands in front of myself. "Show me!"

At once, the girl grabbed the envelope off of her table and pulled me over to herself. "Okay... Here goes..." Taking a breath, she opened it up and pulled the paper within. It was on very formal card stock with an embroidered heading, certainly a good sign. "Leah, we at the art institution of Stardew take our displays very seriously, which is why we were..." She looked up at me with wide, excited, eyes before going back down. "We were very delighted at your submission labeled _Ivy_! We believe each artist has the fire inside to create their inner dreams, which is why we believe that with more training and hard work that your next submission will meet all the criteria to be successfully..." Her words started to trail off, going softer and softer as she rushed to continue. "Successfully accepted into our most prestigious gallery. Until such a time, we encourage you to not give up on your dreams and to try again after a four month waiting period to increase your skill-" She stopped reading and fell to her knees before I had a chance to grab her.

I didn't know what to say at the moment. Her eyes were glazed, staring into the fire with no real expression on her face. The letter slipped from her grasp and slid across the floor silently as she sat there. Unsure of what to do, I decided to sit next to her, one hand reaching over to touch hers. This seemed to shake her from her trance and she blinked, a tear running down her cheek. "Leah..."

"Everything that I wanted to do was in that painting," She spoke gently, as if in shock. "Everything that I never got from Kel, everything that I did get from you, and the passion and love I put into it when I thought about what you had done for me. All of it was in each brush stroke, each..." I had to hug her then, almost crying myself. "I put everything I had into it, and now it's... I'll never see..." Her words finally broke and a hard gasp came next. I felt her arms wrap around me and be pulled close as she let out what had built up inside of her since the day she mailed it off. Hard sobs racked her tiny body, warm tears running down her cheeks and onto my neck.

I could only hug her as she cried, mumbled words mixed with half sentences lost on me as she struggled to come to terms with her reality. She was shaking almost violently, her voice changing from coughs, to gasps, to whining as she pulled on me closer. Finally, after what seemed like ages, she started to settle. Her breathing began to find a rhythm, and her frail figure quit squirming. "I can't say I understand," I finally began, making her turn ever so slightly to look at my neck from her place on my shoulder. "But I know what it meant to you. I'm sorry, Leah. We lost this battle." Pulling back just enough to look at her fully, I offered her a small smile of support. "But we'll win the war. We'll get you displayed. People will see you, and you'll live off your art with no worries about anything. And I'll be there every step of the way. Even when you fall down." As if to make my point, I helped her get back up to her feet and guide her over to the bed.

The sounds of rain were starting to pick up now, the wind making howling sounds as it blew past the little cottage we were currently in. The sky was dark now, making the mood seem even more fitting. Leah was starting to compose herself more and more as she accepted the results of the contest, wiping the tears from her eyes with the palm of her hands. "You're right. This isn't over. There are many more competitions, more mediums to work with, and more chances to get myself out there. I've been through too much to let this slow me down. I'll show them." Nodding to herself, she looked at me sitting beside her. "I just wish I didn't lose the painting of you."

"You have pictures of it," I reminded her softly. "I know it's not the same, but... You'll always have it."

"And you?" She asked as her fingers interlaced with mine.

I felt my cheeks warm at the sudden topic shift. "I have no plans to go anywhere."

"Then...Stay with me for a bit?" The girl reached up to my face, cupping my cheek with her palm. I nodded at her and swallowed as she encouraged me to move along with her to lay down onto the mattress. I found myself on my back, looking up at the ceiling, as she half laid on top of me. Her arm was draped over my middle, and a leg bent at the knee to lay on mine. "Just... hold me for a bit?" I did as requested, gently stroking her back as I closed my eyes. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep on me, worn out from her outburst. As I listened to her breathing and the sound of the rain lashing against the house, I also felt myself drift off to sleep.

I wasn't sure what time it was when I awoke to the sound of both mine and Leah's phone's making an alert noise. The jump scare broke my dreams instantly and I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Awww..." I heard my girlfriend make a disappointed sound. She was sitting across from me, at her easel, with her sketchpad propped up onto it. I smiled apologetically at her, but knew my pose was ruined even if I were to lay back down.

"How long was I out?" I asked softly, moving to a sitting position with my feet on the floor. It was still raining and the sky was now a darker color to indicate either late afternoon or evening.

"Not too long, maybe an hour after I got up. I tend to take naps to give my mind a break after a few hours of work." I gave her a look that told her I clearly knew the difference between a normal person's 'few hours' and her 'I forgot to eat all day long because I was in the zone' time frame. "Anyway, I think that was Abby." We both reached for our phones and checked the group app at the same time.

Abigail: I'm about to head home, what are you two up to?"

Leah: In that rain? Won't you be soaked? I'm just drawing.

Kim: Did you bring an umbrella? I'm at Leah's house, just woke up from a nap.

Abigail: A nap? You?

I furrowed my brow as Leah giggled to herself.

Kim: I sleep plenty! I just needed a nap!

Abigail: What are you two doing over there that makes you need a nap?

Leah: Cuddling.

Abigail: Can I swing by unannounced and cuddle too?

Leah: Sure! Just come on in, get out of that storm!

We both put down our phones as Abigail sent a smiley face. Leah stood from her drawing station and came over to me, showing the sketch she had been working on. Despite being cut off on it, it looked remarkable. I saw my sleeping face laying on my back, my head turned slightly on the pillow. My ponytail was sprawled all over the sheets, being exaggerated for artistic purposes. I could almost feel the fireplace warmth from the picture, as it honestly looked like the fireplace was the only light source. Actually, it _was_ the only light source, as she had turned off everything else. "Could you draw in this light?" I asked, my voice suddenly going a little quieter as if I'd wake someone up.

"It wasn't bad." She replied in kind, smiling at me. "I wanted to see what you would look like in only firelight..." I swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling very intimate with her in this setting. She seemed to be feeling it too, as her face softened and her eyes met mine. "You look really pretty like this..."

"...You look beautiful." I had complimented her before, but this was the first time I heard my voice take on an almost husky tone with her. I wasn't sure if it was because I was still dazed from my nap, or still cuddly from laying with her, but here, right now, I wanted to touch her. Maybe even kiss her.

This time it was Leah who moved over me, my body laying back onto the bed and looking up at her with wide eyes. The darkness of the room was quickly illuminated as a log in the fire rolled, causing it to stoke the flames. I saw the highlights of her features, and an almost shadow like silhouette of her body, as she stayed above me on all fours. She was so petite from living off foraging and fishing, choosing not to eat meat and working through her mealtimes. Despite this, I could still see very feminine curves on her body. Her breasts were still full and very noticeable with her shirt hanging down. She wore a bra that could be either a dark navy blue or black in this light, and I felt the desire to find out its true color.

The light danced from the flames, the sound of crackling wood keeping the silence from being too strong. The mood was perfect, and we both looked at each other as if asking permission to progress our desires. She gave in first, pressing her body against mine and opening her mouth for a kiss. Her lips were warm and comforting, insisting but giving. I felt her weight on me next, pressing me into the bed by her small frame that suddenly had me at her mercy. I felt intoxicated, my breath catching as we looked at each other again. "We..." I panted out, hating my words. "Don't have time..."

"We have time," She whispered back. "We have all the time in the world." Her forehead rested on mine and I had to repress the urge to devour her in my arms. Just as I was about to give into the desire, I heard the door open.

"Man it _sucks_ our there!" Abigail's voice came as she closed the door and moved around the corner. She stopped in her tracks when she saw us and for a moment fear came into my chest. Would it be okay? Would this upset her? Did this upset me? "Really?" She asked, putting a hand on her hip.

"It just kind of happened," Leah replied with a small laugh, grinning at her. "Anyway, do you need a towel?" She moved off of me and I suddenly felt as if the cold attacked my front all at once. "Oh you're not even wet? Lucky you!"

"I know, right?" Abigail's voice was still normal and I relaxed visibly. Closing my eyes, I looked up at the ceiling, silently wondering how long it would be before this was completely normal for us. "Actually, I learned something really neat today. I can emit heat around my body to prevent rain from hitting me. It forms a type of barrier around my body. I was feeling a bit drained from my training today so I didn't think I could keep it up for very long. I decided to run here and interrupt your fun." I felt the bed shift and opened my eyes, blushing hard as Abigail leaned over me to give me a kiss. "Mmmn, your chap stick tastes different," she mused flirtingly at me.

"Because it's mine," Leah snorted, making Abigail make a grossed out face.

"Anyway!" She hopped up and looked at us both. "What's going on?"

"About to eat, you hungry?" Leah flicked her light switches to bathe the room in a bright light that seemed to combat the storm raging outside. On her way around, she scooped up the disregarded letter and tossed it into the fire as well. "Oh!" She suddenly turned to me. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot, what was it that you wanted to tell me earlier?"

I sat up and smiled at them both. "I'm expanding my house!"

"No _way!_ " Abigail said at once, looking at me with an impressed expression. "How in the world can you afford that?"

"When I left my apartment and came over here, I had my parents put my car up for sale for me in the city. It just sold a few days ago and I found out about it today when the money cleared. Robin was already fixing my patio and it was just a win-win situation for us. Although it took almost everything I just made, I think it's a great idea. I'm putting in a master bedroom and turning my old one into a guest room. I'll have plenty of room for either of you to come over and do your thing if you wanted to visit."

Abigail looked positively thrilled at this. "Awesome! I'd love to hang out after work if you wouldn't mind."

Leah smiled at the idea of it. "I think being in your house could add some added inspiration for some of my works, I wouldn't mind dropping by every so often to do that as well. Not counting just visiting, of course."

"Of course," I laughed in agreement. "Now I just need to let them do the work, which means a really crappy home life for a bit."

"How long?" Abigail pondered as she watched Leah fuss around in the kitchen.

"Maybe two weeks or so? Robin has the materials ready since she thought she was going to get a different job. The faster they get it done, the faster they can move onto another job so they're willing to start as soon as I confirm a date to start."

Leah looked back at me. "Want to stay here with me? You could just go home to your farm for work and then come back here at night?"

"Actually," Abigail held up a finger. "When I was training today, I heard more detail about that new cave found in the desert. The first area of it is cleared and pretty much open to the public since the land is still not claimed by anyone. I was wanting to go see some of the top tier adventurers in action, as well as possibly visit the town near it. I hear it's supposed to be really cool."

"The one with the casinos and stuff?" I pondered aloud. Even though none of us had money to gamble away, I had never been in one before. The idea of a mini vacation was really nice sounding, actually. "What's the weather for the upcoming days?"

"Rain every day pretty much," Leah answered at once. "I keep up with it for fishing."

"I'd be able to go," I realized. "A week won't put me too far behind, and I could use a little relaxing time. Plus I wouldn't be sleeping well anyway..."

"I wouldn't mind seeing the casinos," Leah admitted. "I think the fancy lights and complete different view from Pelican Town may give me a new spark of interest."

"Well then," Abigail grinned at us both, crossing her arms triumphantly. "Let's go on a vacation!"


	3. Chapter 3

As I approached the bus stop, I mentally went over my check list one more time. I had enough clothes for the days we would be gone, as well as two spare outfits in case anything happened. I had my toothbrush, deodorant, perfume, makeup, sun block, swimsuit, my brush, underwear... I think I was good to go. The weather that Leah had forecast turned out to be true, and the next week was planned to have massive rainstorms for several days. Perfect time for me to be away. Although I felt bad for Robin, she assured me they were used to it and would have everything tented off so no damage would be done. All that was left now was to wait for my friends to join me.

 **Constellation III**

 **By: Satashi**

Leah made it to me first, dragging her suitcase with both hands. She looked positively beat and I felt a small smile come to my lips when she let it thunk down next to me. "Hey, I offered," I teased her at once. She was wearing a long sleeve light green shirt with what looked like a blue undershirt. Her normally baggy jeans were tight now, going into brown boots. I had chosen to go with a white tee with a pink heart on the side of it. My jeans were a dirty white with pink threads, also going into boots, but covered the top of them.

"I didn't want you to go out of your way," She panted out, sitting down on the bench with me. "You had a pretty long walk too."

"I took my horse," I replied with a small smile. "He knows his way back home. Robin promised to close the gates when she left for the day, as well as making sure he had enough hay to last him." As we talked, a truck pulled into the bus stop area and we both waved to Pierre when he saw us. Abigail hopped out of the passenger side and reached in the back to grab her luggage, pausing for a moment to hug her father goodbye. "At least she had it easy."

"Hey girls," Abigail greeted us happily. "First day. Pretty soon we'll be thinking back at this moment going 'We had so much time, where did it all go?'"

"Eager to come back already?" I laughed as we all started walking to the bus. Pam turned out to be our driver and, after checking her schedule, realized she had no first class passengers along our path. She gave us a knowing look and, as quietly as a loud mouthed person like Pam could, told us she wouldn't notice if we were to take those seats. This came with above the seat luggage compartments instead of below the bus, to which we were all thankful for. When we boarded we were also greeted with personal air conditioner vents at the front of the bus. The seats had almost double the space as the others and I plopped down with a content and happy sound. I found Leah sitting next to me and leaning against my side.

"Hey no fair!" Abigail protested, pointing at her. "I was going to sit there!"

"You snooze, you lose." Leah winked at her, and I suddenly felt very embarrassed. "I claim this spot."

"Ugh, fine." The purple haired girl sat on the seat across from us and pulled out a Switch. "I wanted to beat the game anyway..."

The trip would take several hours with a few stops along the way. At first, I was content to just look out the window and reminisce of the time I first came to Stardew Valley to stay. Pam had driven me then too, but I didn't know it at the time. Back then, she was just another random face in a pool of faces I've never seen before. I, of course, took this moment to share my thoughts and play with Abigail about scarring my nose. Leah came to her defense and reminded me that their first meeting was me starving for food, and then passing out in the rain. I had certainly had an interesting first couple days in the town, and it seemed like every day was still an adventure. New places I've never seen, new community events to look forward to, and really becoming a place among the town. Even the people I didn't interact with much still knew me, as both Pierre and Gus both had signs about their locally secured produce from Kim.

As the second hour rolled around, I was starting to get bored. Leah seemed to be content sketching Abigail as she played her game, so I counted that idea out. Instead, I watched over her shoulder as her pen scratched the paper. Her lines weren't as crisp as they usually were, a side effect of the constant moving and bouncing. Despite this, it was turning out really well. I lost myself in this for the longest time, until she started to shade, the side of her pencil etching the graphite onto the paper. A particularly nasty pothole made her pencil jet across the paper and ruin a large section of it. I felt devastated at this outcome, but Leah took it in stride, using her soft eraser to smear the mark and turn it into a design onto the girl's shirt.

Leah seemed to notice me looking over her shoulder and looked back at me with a gentle smile. She leaned over and pecked my cheek before turning back to her art. This wasn't missed by Abigail, who looked over at me and gave a soft pout. I was about to say something to her but the bus turned semi sharply and we pulled into a gas station stop along the way. Pam said something about a fifteen minute break for everyone, so we all immediately took the chance to stretch our legs.

The little stop was a cross between a tourist trap and a service station, holding all sorts of cute impulse buys. We each split up almost at once, looking through the aisles and grabbing a few snacks and drinks for the remainder of the trip. I knew we were going to the desert, but after seeing a flavor of soda that I hadn't had in a while, I couldn't help but grab it instead of water. Leah, on the other hand, purchased a large bottle, while Abigail got a frozen slushie style drink. I picked up some sour candy as well and checked out.

When I flomped down in my seat, I felt Abigail fall against me, half laying on top of my body. Looking up at Leah, she gave a very satisfied "You snooze, you lose," along with a peace sign. I couldn't help but laugh at this, even as Abigail pulled my arm around her shoulders so she could cuddle up against me properly. This, of course, made people look at me as they came back onto the bus. I had swapped girls at the stop and a few noticed it. Although I wasn't ashamed of our relationship, I still felt shy about it. I got embarrassed easily, and this was one of the things I wasn't too good with. My cheeks were burning and I hid myself against her hair with my eyes closed until the bus started up again.

Abigail immediately started into her game again, sitting in the seat sideways and forcing me to lean against the window slightly so she could rest her head on my shoulder while gaming. I looked across the aisle at Leah, who had her sketchbook out once again, beaming at me with those large eyes of hers. "Try not to move too much?" She asked of me. I gave a curt nod and subjected myself to being the model of her work yet again.

* * *

When we finally arrived at our destination, I let out a very thankful sigh. I was cramped, sore, and stiff from the ride, not to mention hot from the sun bearing in through the window. Stepping outside of the vehicle only offered a different type of scorched heat, though. The sun was intense, and seemed to reflect off of the sand around us. Despite being in a pretty big city, it was still evident that we were in a desert. There was hardly and foliage around, and I couldn't blame them for not wanting to grow in this blazing heat either. I was already sweating and the sun didn't seem to want to refill my mana battery as it did back on the farm. Now it felt like it was just cooking me, and I wanted to get out from it as soon as possible.

"So what first?" Abigail's voice came up as we looked around. We were on a busy street with masses of people going every which direction. There were flashing lights at every building, fountains that were shooting water jets in patterns, and in all I felt almost overwhelmed by the sheer atmosphere of the area.

"I think our hotel?" Leah offered rationally.

"Yeah, let's get checked in and go from there." I began walking, but took only a few steps before I hesitated. "Which... way should we be going again?"

"Our fearless leader, everyone." Abigail rolled her eyes.

"This way," the artist of the group lead us.

"How can you tell?" I pondered.

Leah pointed. "Because the sign over there is the same as the hotel we booked for us." I immediately felt embarrassed beyond belief. "Come on, Kimmy, I'll hold your hand so you don't get lost." I didn't know which was more embarrassing; the sudden pet name or being lead around so I wouldn't get lost. Thankfully this only lasted for a few moments before we were inside the hotel. At least I thought it was a hotel. Almost the entire ground floor was a giant casino with flashing lights and attractive sounds. I lost myself in it for a moment. Each beeping, twirling tone of slot machines, as well as the gimmicky video poker game. The dealers calling out signs and cards and numbers almost sucked me right in, wanting to experience it all for myself. This must have been evident on my face, because Leah pulled me back to reality with a little tug. "Let's go," she insisted while grinning. "Let's get our luggage upstairs before we do anything else."

After a relatively painless check in, we were given key cards to our room as well as free food coupons for their buffet. Even still, we were each handed over a five dollar voucher to use on a slot machine of our choice. I gave my friends a look and pointed with my free hand. "Come on girls, just one spin! It's free money, let's go all or nothing!"

"I'm down," Abigail smirked as she walked with me.

"Sure, why not?" Leah followed suite. Arriving at the first one I saw, we all scanned our coupons, bringing the machine's credit count up to fifteen.

"All on one line, or multiple lines?"

"All on one!" Abigail was leaning forward, grinning at the spin wheel.

Leah crossed her arms and thought a moment before shaking her head and laughing. "Okay, all on one line! Win big or bust!"

I reached for the handle and let each girl place their hands on mine before we all three pulled on it together. The dazzling lights danced to the sound of spinning and whistling of the machine. A small fanfare played as the three wheels began to stop. The first one landed on a parsnip, the middle one on another parsnip, and I held my breath as the tones playing from the machine suddenly sped up. The final parsnip was falling into place, slowly rolling down to lock into to slot, but stopped just short. The sirens still went off, though, and I realized we got a wild card instead!

Our credit counter was going nuts, the numbers going up and up and up as the bells and music filled my every sense. After what seemed like ages, it finally stopped, showing a solid six hundred dollars. I scanned my room key on the machine and the balance was transferred to it immediately. "We won six hundred dollars..." I whispered out in shock.

"We won!" Abigail hugged me roughly. "Oh Kim, we did it! Check it out! What should we do with it?"

"Let's spend it." Leah offered at once. "Let's each take a hundred to use on the casinos only, and keep the other hundred each to buy our meals and entertainment. Let's not waste this chance to have a blast!"

"But we have some free lunches already," I realized, looking at our coupons. "Which means we'll have more to spend on anything at all... Girls, I think we just officially started our vacation!

* * *

By the time we had put our luggage away, I was itching to get something in my stomach. The buffet seemed like the best place for this, so I pulled along my girlfriends past the crazy sounds and lights of the casino area and over towards where my nose was beckoning me. "There's no way this is free," I gasped out when we walked past the tables towards where we registered our coupons. "Is that steak? Oh my goodness, I'm going to eat steak and lobster and not pay a dime for it!?"

Abigail was already drooling slightly. "I see so many yummy things... I 'm going to stuff my face until I can't move!"

Leah was right there with us, eyes wide as she eyed one table in particular. "That salad bar looks phenomenal!" At once, we both stopped and stared at her. She caught this after a few more steps and looked back over her shoulder, face tinted red. "What? Not all of us eat things that were alive!"

"Fish are alive," I mused, making her pout at me.

"They don't feel things like that, though!"

"Okay, okay," Abigail walked between us, having dealt with Leah's odd eating habits for much longer than I have. "Let's just all get what we want, and meet up. Deal?"

We answered in unison. "Deal." I began my attack at once, grabbing everything that I wanted, and trying a few things that I didn't even know what they were. In all, my plate was stacked and I arrived to our table first. I decided to wait on them to catch up, although I did sneak a small bite of a shrimp that looked lonely over on the side of my dish. When Leah joined, she had just what I expected: a huge salad with different types of dressings in small containers as well. Abigail landed shortly after and we all raised our drinks together to clink in a toast. "To us," I laughed out, getting the words repeated by my two friends.

Once we were done eating, and having a small battle with Abigail over who could eat the most shrimp that I won, we made our way to the casino area properly. I felt extremely excited and just itching to try everything at once. "Try to keep your phones where you can feel them," I told them a little loudly over the racket around us. "I don't think we'll hear it over this noise. Should we meet up at any specific time?"

"Three hours?" Leah suggested while eyeing the craps table. "Ooooh I've always wanted to try this after I painted a picture of dice a while back!"

"Three hours sounds great," Abigail agreed. "I'll be at the poker table, I saw it on the television a few times and always thought it'd be cool to try it. What about you?" Her green eyes turned to look at me. "What vice does Kim have?"

"I'm thinking the slots again, I'm not too good with this kind of stuff. Too much math involved." I pointed over to a section that had the farm themed slot machines like the one we had won big on. "I'll be over there, I think. Might wander around."

"Be safe!" They both told me at once, making me feel a little like a kid. Despite this, we all split up and headed to our own respective areas. I hit up the slots curiously, watching the spinning wheels and flashing lights along with the addicting sounds of coins falling into metal trays, the beeping of near misses, and the alarms of a random but semi often big winner. After almost an hour at one place, I moved to another, suddenly finding it really interesting how they incorporated games that I was used to seeing on social media. I even lost twenty dollars on a flappy bird binge that I didn't regret at all.

When the time to meet up finally came, I found Abigail already looking around at the spot where we split, and joined her after a moment. "Hey! How are you doing?"

"Sucky, I'm half way down," she admitted with a light grin. "Cards aren't my thing. It's a lot different when you can't see what the other people have." Her words made me snort out a laugh, getting my shoulder a good punch. "How are you then?" She crossed her arms, giving me a playful smirk. "Slots are rigged, everyone knows that."

"Thirty up!" I announced with a peace sign. "I lost a lot all at once, but I built myself back up after walking around a lot. But where's Leah at? She's not normally once for being late." We both looked around and scanned the area before seeing a table that was more crowded than the others. Curiously, we walked over to it and stood in shock at the sight before us. Leah, in all her glory, was at the head of the table, rolling the dice and getting cheers from everyone around her. She was apparently doing _very_ well, as she had two rather hot looking guys trying to fight for her attention between rolls.

When she noticed us, her eyes lit up even more and she waved over in a call. "Kim! Abby! Come look, I'm on a roll!"

"Was that a pun?" Abby pondered as we made our way over. Once next to her, Leah held the dice in her hands

"Blow for good luck!" She requested of me, making my face blush dark red. "Come on, I saw someone else do it and they got a good roll! I need an eight!" She held her hand with the two dice in them closer and I reluctantly blow softly onto them, getting glares from the guys around. This seemed to satisfy the girl and she threw the dice along the table. Seconds went by before cheers erupted again.

"Holy heck," Abigail leaned over to the stack of chips in front of her friend. "How much do you have!?"

"I don't know," she admitted with a laugh. "I keep forgetting what the colors mean."

"Did you...Did you drink?" I leaned forward and tried to sniff at her, but she started playing again. I then noticed a bottle by her chips and the girl nodded airily to finally answer my question.

"Really cute girl in a bunny outfit brought it for me! You get free drinks here!"

I met Abigail's eyes and we both nodded in agreement. "Come on, Leah, let's get you some fresh air."

"But I'm winning!" She protested with a pout.

Abigail helped her get the chips in front of herself and I laughed softly while telling the dealer we had to go. Several people complained, but we still managed to get away and over to a bench to sit on. "Geeze Leah, you're loaded! There's almost three hundred here!" The purple haired girl gasped out.

"I put my original hundred back in my purse," She admitted, grinning a little bit _too_ wide as she eyed me up and down. "Didn't want to lose it. Hey Kimmy, you're looking rather nice tonight, I must say." Her voice got a little huskier as she leaned closer. "Hey, what say we-"

"Get some fresh air!?" I squeaked out, face red. "Lovely idea!" The three of us cashed out our chips and left the hotel/casino to go into the dark night. At least, it would be dark if there weren't thousands of lights glaring and casino signs flashing all different kinds of crazy. "The City that never sleeps?" I asked curiously.

"That's Sagev, we're in Reno." Abigail corrected me absently. "World's biggest little city."

As a gust of cold wind blew around us, our friend started to collect herself a little. "Wow, that's cold," she complained softly. "What time is it anyway?"

"Close to midnight, I'm assuming, since we had such a late dinner that lasted so long." I looked around as the wind whipped my ponytail against Abigail. "I'm not tired yet, are you girls?" They each shook their head, making me grin. "Then... On the town!"

The next several hours almost became a blur in my mind. We hit up at least three other casinos, as well as a hamburger joint to eat. Leah, who was still slightly under the influence, even ate a bite of my hamburger. Despite her moanings of how good it tasted, Abigail and I both made a silent promise to each other not to ever bring it back up again. By the time we were remotely getting ready to call it quits for the night, we all ended up staying on a high in the city to watch the sun rise. With the cold air slowly becoming warmer and warmer, and with full stomachs and energy, we decided to just power on through the day.

"Let's go to the new cave," Abigail suggested after a while of watching the sun. "We can probably catch the early morning group before they go in. I'd like to talk with a few of my friends who are over here."

Leah nodded and pointed out in the distance. "To the caves!"

* * *

The mines came into view not too long after we left the bus station. It was certainly different from the one back home, as it was crowded and seemingly harmless. Abigail was looking over my shoulder, as I sat by the window, and hummed to herself at the sight. "Looks like it's in full swing, doesn't it?"

"It's different for sure," I agreed. I hadn't thought about it, but the mines I was so used to going into had been abandoned long ago. These caves were freshly discovered, not a month ago, and several different companies were already biting each other at the heels to get the goods first. "It's kind of weird, seeing different types of places like this." I voiced my thoughts aloud as we came to a slow stop. "I lived in the city most all my life, and never thought much about the rural areas. Monsters and wars were something we learned about in books, not actually seeing. To think that there are whole corporations and guilds devoted to the things is just... Really shocking. I'm so glad our caves are so passive. I can't imagine worrying about these kinds of things every night."

I felt Abigail place a protective arm around my shoulder as she waited for the bus doors to slide open, signaling it was safe for us to disembark. "You chose that part of farming, even though its' harder," Her voice was a whisper. "You could have chosen a tractor, or purchased your tools from many different places. Instead of that, you decided to go into the mines with me, and I promised that I would protect you." She looked at me, and for a moment, I saw a really deep emotion in her eyes as she drank me in. "I hope you know how much I mean that." Just as fast as it came, the mood broke with her kissing my forehead and beaming at me. "Ready!?"

"Ready!" All three of us hopped off the bus and looked around curiously. Several people were walking around, while others were under tents looking at maps and blueprints. There were multiple adventurers around, standing out from the crowd with their armor and weaponry. I saw Abigail hold her purse closer to herself, and I knew at once she had her daggers in there.

"Abby," I called her in a serious voice. Both girls looked at me and I nodded my head to her bag. "You should let me carry those for you."

"I won't pull them out," she replied in a tone that told me I didn't have a chance of convincing her otherwise. "We'll be fine. We're just looking, not going into. I can't fight for another two weeks. If I did anything like that, I'd be barred for life. Can't take that risk." Her words made me stand my ground and when I refused to walk anymore, my friend finally let out a low growl. The purse fell from her shoulder and into her hand before offering it out to me. I gave her mine and we swapped without another word.

Leah chose to not press the matter and instead lead the way over to the entrance. We were stopped when we were close enough by a random person whose uniform I didn't recognize. "Excuse me ladies," he greeted with a smile. "There are some monsters inside the cave, so we really can't let anyone go in without protection. There are a few adventurers over to the side there," he pointed with a hand while talking. "They would be more than happy to lend a hand if you wish to go sightseeing. Be warned, though, only the first area is available for viewing. The rest is being worked on, so it's not safe in general. Please understand."

I had almost expected people to flat out refuse to let us in, but in the back of my mind I did know this place was not private property. "Thank you," I smiled at him. "We'll hire one, thank you."

We departed over to the shaded canopy where more than a handful of people lounged around. They all eyed us as we entered into the shadows and Abigail spoke up on our behalf. "Hey guys, we're looking for a big, strong, man to guide us into the mines so we can take pictures!" Her voice was super cute and she even threw in a giggle at the end. At once a few of them stepped forward, offering prices that got lower and lower and they battled themselves for our services. When all was said and done, we had a guide for only a handful of coins, even less than Abigail had charged when she was still working.

Upon entering the caves, I had thought I'd be happy to be out of the scorching sun, but instead I felt a feeling of disgust in my body. Truthfully I was more than a little tired after pulling an all-nighter, but for some reason the sun didn't recharge my mana like it normally did. Instead, I felt almost withered, as if my energy was being pulled from me instead. My two friends were looking around with wide eyes, though, and I pushed my feelings down for their enjoyment. I could sleep later. For now, we were here to have fun!

The caves were cool, almost cold coming from the heat outside. We crossed over a bridge that was recently made and stopped to look down to a pool of water a few stories under it. There were electric lights around the area, dimly lighting it up. I could tell everything was already being mined and prospected for riches, and it was really cool to see the process of it. Going deeper and deeper in, I was amazed at just how staggeringly huge it was. The first floor where we were alone was already the size of the three levels that I knew of in the mines back home. And this was only the safe zone.

"This is really cool," Leah's voice came up as we continued to walk around and explore with our guide who went by the name Matt. "I was always curious to go into the mines back home, but was too scared."

"Join the club," Abigail chuckled to herself. "That was fun, wasn't it Kim?...Kim?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, right." I rubbed my arm, looking around as I felt the cold chill move around my body. "Man it's drafty in here for being a cave, huh? Is that normal for something this size?"

"Last time I checked, wind doesn't generate from rocks," Leah laughed at me.

"You cold?" Abigail looked like she wanted to offer me a jacket or something, but had nothing to offer. "Should we go back?"

"Nah, I'm good." I brushed off the feeling and continued our self-guiding tour until we came upon a rather large group of people marching towards us. "Oh hey, I think I recognize that guy... yeah isn't that Ryou?"

"Ryou?" Abigail turned to where I was pointing and nodded. "Yeah, it is!"

Ryou, the archer who had taken me to the tenth floor of the Pelican Town mines, was leading a small expedition of workers towards the front of the cave. When his eyes landed on us, he frowned instantly "I told them not to let anyone in," His words were a mix between concerned and annoyed. Almost at once he looked towards Abigail, who made a motion with her thumb to Matt.

"I paid him to keep us safe," she revealed with a shrug. "Should be fine."

"No. You won't." Ryou pointed to the entrance, which by now was just barely visible thanks to the light outside. "We need to leave. Right now."

"What happened?" I turned to walk along with him, rubbing my arms and exhaling a puff of fog from my mouth. "Why is it so cold, does no one else notice that?"

Ryou stopped and looked at me, eyes wide. "Kim. When was the last time you recharged?"

"I dunno, I thought the sun would do it. I-"

"You're in a _desert_ , Kim. The sun withers plants here. Are you okay? Have you eaten?"

"I'm full. Had lots of food and sports drinks so we wouldn't get tired. Though we did stay up all last-st-st-st" My teeth were chattering now and I rubbed my arms vigorously in my stutter. "Man it's _really cold!"_

Abigail made her way to me, but stopped when Ryou held out his arm. "Abigail. Stay back." His hand slowly started moving down to the quiver of arrows hung on his hip.

"Ryou?" I asked, confused. "Is... is something behind me?" My vision started going more and more dim as I looked around myself. "I... don't...see... anything..." I stumbled and shook my head. "I'd... like to leave..."

"Kim!" Leah ran towards me, but Ryou grabbed the back of her shirt and ripped her backwards.

"Everyone back!" He nocked and drew his bow, aiming it above me. "I'll distract it, Abigail, you get your friend!"

I looked at Abigail for help, her eyes wide with fear. I felt the chill grip my insides and managed to take one more step before falling forward in blackness, my mana nearly depleted.

* * *

When I awoke, I felt more dead than alive. My whole body hurt, and I had a searing headache that almost threatened to make me black out again. I groaned and moved to bring my hand up to my face, but found that it couldn't move. I tried again to the same effect and opened my eyes slowly. I was in a hospital room. An IV was hung up next to me, along with a silent heart monitor showing my beats. Letting out another groan, I tried to sit up, only to find that I couldn't move my upper body either. As my senses started to come back, I realized that I was strapped down to the bed by leather belts. ' _What!?_ ' My mind raced. I saw Leah suddenly over me, mouth moving but no words coming out.

 _Leah?_ I coughed, my words catching in my throat. The stinging in my head started to pick up and I could now feel a jabbing pain in my ears. _What's going on!?_ I demanded of her. I tried to move my arms again, now wrestling as hard as I could. _Why am I tied up? What's happening!?_ My commotion brought another person to my bedside, also silently mouthing things to me. _I don't understand!_ I screamed, the pain in my head making my words inaudible to myself.

Now I saw Abigail limping to the front of my bed. She was in a hospital gown, bloody bandages across one side of her face and in her hair. The loose fabric of her button up was partially undone, showing a chest wrap. Both her hands were bandaged and bleeding as well, her face showing clear signs of pain. _Abby!? What happened!?_ She mouthed words to me, but not being able to make them out only made me struggle more. _Help me Abby! Get me out!_ I jerked and pulled on the belts, thrashing in the bed.

Leah once more came into my view, crying as she hovered over me. Her lips moved again and a teardrop landed on my cheek. Finally, a realization dawned upon me. The heart monitor wasn't on silent. My headache wasn't making me unable to focus on my own words. My friends weren't mouthing out things around me... _I can't hear..._

My words made everyone stop at once. _I can't hear!_ I screamed out louder, looking around in a panic. _What happened to me!? Why can't I hear anything!? Why am I tied up!?_ The silence was crushing. I knew I should be making lots of noise as I struggled, but nothing was there. My friends' voices were gone, their comfort passing as if it weren't there. I couldn't focus on anything except trying to bring my hands to my head, to make any type of sound at all to see if I could somehow recognize it. Instead, all I got was silence. Crushing silence that consumed every soundless breath I took. Finally, I saw a doctor next to me, injecting something into my IV drip. I shouted for him to help me, that I couldn't hear anything, but he only looked down at me sadly. My hand was taken by Leah and I looked up at her with blurry eyes, tears streaming down my face. She was trying to tell me something as she stroked my hand. The effect must have been calming because I started to drift off into a deep sleep once more.


	4. Chapter 4

Dreaming? Was I dreaming? I was in some kind of cave. I felt cold, as if my insides were freezing. I felt wisps of chills running all over my body, making my skin itch. As I looked around, I could tell something was off. I was about to call out for someone when the dark caves suddenly blazed into light. Abigail was before me, slashing one of her daggers right at my throat. I managed to stumble back, but she pressed on. Swing after swing, I staggered and dodged to the best of my ability. I tried to call to her, but my voice was silent. I couldn't get through to my friend, who continued to attack. Her fire was blazing, taking my breath and making me want to choke. My skin was burning now, blistering from the constant white hot attacks being delivered to me. I felt the floor give way under me and screamed out as I fell into the dark unknown.

 **Constellation IV**

 **By: Satashi**

Gasping, I awoke up with a start. I was sweating heavily and my throat was completely dry. Sitting up, I brought a hand to my face and wiped the matted hair away. I then slowly started to take in my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was the crushing silence and pain in my head. I testingly brought my hand up to my ear and rubbed it gently. I could feel the sensation, but heard absolutely nothing from it. My vision went down to the foot of my bed, where I saw Leah sitting in a chair with her upper body bent over to rest on the mattress I was on.

At that point I remembered what happened the last time I woke up, and looked around nervously. Whatever was going on was over now and I was free to do whatever I wanted. Leah's sketchbook was on my lap and I picked it up when I noticed a note on it. _Kim,_ I spoke aloud to test out my hearing loss even farther. _We know you can't hear, the doctors looked into it when you went back to sleep. Don't worry, you'll be okay in time. For now, you need to rest and regain your energy. Wake me when you read this please._ I sat the notebook down and looked at Leah, who had her eyes open now. _Hey,_ I greeted her.

Leah's lips moved as she sat up. After a moment, she looked really sad and her mouth moved again. When I shrugged at her, she looked like she positively wanted to cry. She took a few steadying breaths and went for her cell phone in her purse, as well as mine. Handing me one, she turned on my screen and flicked the pages over twice before tapping a new app that I've never seen before. She chose to ignore my wallpaper of Abigail and instead looked at her phone. I noticed mine said it was connected and Leah met my eyes, speaking once more, but into her phone.

Looking down, I noticed my app was now showing words on the screen. " _Is this working right? Can you read what I'm saying?_ " I blinked and looked back up at her hopeful eyes. Her mouth started moving again and I looked down at the screen. " _Are you okay? Do you hurt?_ "

" _I can read it,"_ I spoke aloud, hearing nothing. " _What happened to me?"_

" _You were attacked by a monster in the cave._ " Leah began and my eyes read along with the text appearing on my phone. " _Abigail and that Ryou person managed to save you, but you were hurt in the process. Your eardrums are both blown. They will heal in about three weeks we're told."_

" _Three weeks..._ " I sighed out thankfully. " _So this isn't permanent?"_ The odd feeling of speaking but not hearing was starting to really get to me. My ears just felt... wrong. They itched and hurt, and the burning desire to snap my fingers beside them continued to grow by the second. " _Abby!"_ I suddenly realized, scared. " _I saw her! She's hurt! What happened!?"_

Leah quickly stood and pushed my shoulders back down onto the bed when I tried to get up. She was telling me something and it took her a moment to realize I couldn't see my phone. When I nodded at her, she moved back and adjusted her chair to sit beside me. " _Kim, wait, sit down. She's fine, stay in bed. You okay? Okay, just relax."_ The words on the screen weren't synced to my time and the feeling of always being late on the conversation added onto the overall feeling of annoyance and fear still lingering inside me.

" _Okay,"_ I sighed out, and again wanted to furiously rub my ears. " _Abby. How is she?_ "

" _She's..."_ The flashing dots on my screen told me that Leah was running her app but not detecting any words coming from her. I glanced up and saw the girl biting her bottom lip. When she noticed me, she quickly smiled and began speaking again. " _She'll be okay. She's a little banged up from a fight with a monster. I didn't get to see it all, but she has a cut on her face and on her hands. A few bruises all around and..._ " Again, my app was telling me she wasn't talking anymore.

" _And what?_ " I asked her, suddenly getting a bad feeling.

" _Two broken ribs._ "

I looked at her in shock, trying to comprehend what I just read on my phone. I knew Abigail was nowhere near the powerhouse that Ryou was, but she was still really good. I trusted her with my life, and even when things got really out of hand, she had always come through for me. We always made it out without so much as a few cuts and scrapes, maybe a headache, but never any real damage. " _What... What could possibly do that to her_?"

Leah hesitated. " _It doesn't matter, it's over now. She saved you and carried you back to everyone else. She's in the room over from here. They thought best to keep you separated for the time being._

I snorted, or at least it felt like I did. " _Yeah, she's a little clingy._ " I smiled at my phone, expecting some kind of laugh to come up, but nothing did. When I looked up, Leah was smiling at me instead. My attention turned back to my phone where I now saw the line asking if I was hungry. " _Famished,_ " I answered her. " _I'd really like to eat._ "

* * *

Abigail and I were released at the same time, each with a warning to take it easy. Although I felt like I had been through the wringer, I was pretty much no worse for the wear. Abigail, on the other hand, had a noticeable limp and seemed to favor her left side. She had clear stitch tape on her cheek and up to above her eyebrow where it looked like some kind of blade had slashed her. Thankfully she had told me that it wouldn't scar thanks to the quick treatment, but it still made me feel really uneasy. She was so close to being blind in one eye that it really made me start to fear for her chosen profession. Both her hands were also treated for cuts, although they were still wrapped to prevent her from re-opening them. The cuts on each hand were the exact same, two long gashes across her fingers and palms. I saw a few cuts and scrapes along her legs, but besides that, she _seemed_ okay...

The purple haired girl seemed to notice me staring at her, and she gave me a light hug while we walked to the bus stop. Her mouth moved and I reached into my pocket to get my phone out. She did the same and spoke into it with her free hand holding it in front of herself. " _What are you looking at, Kim?"_ The words on my screen appeared one after another, making me smile softly. They had apparently synced all our phones together for this as soon as they found out what had happened to me.

" _Someone who saved my sorry butt yet again!"_ I laughed at her and she returned it. " _So!_ _I don't know about you two girls, but I think we should just go back to the hotel for a bit. I, for one, could really use a nice bath._ " I helped Abigail into to bus and fell onto a seat next to her. The sun was blazing hot again, and I really just wanted to rest. The silence was still weighing heavily on me, even though I knew it wouldn't last forever like I had initially been scared of. Abigail's condition also worried me to no end. I was still baffled how she managed to get hurt so bad, but I could ask her that once we were back inside the hotel.

The ride back was peaceful to me, as I dozed on and off through most of it, catching little two or three minute naps. Abigail and Leah were talking during my moments of being awake, their voices completely lost on me. When we arrived, Abigail was helped off the bus by Leah. Although I had fully intended to help her limp up to the room, my artistic girlfriend chose to take that spot instead. Once we were back into the privacy of our hotel room, I walked over to the window and looked through the curtains. It was a little hard on me to look out at the sprawling skyscrapers and themed buildings again. Just yesterday I had been in this very spot, almost bouncing in place from the excitement of my vacation with my girlfriends.

Now I stood here while I saw the light reflection of Leah helping Abigail lay on the bed. I turned and watched with a hurt heart as my green eyed friend make a face of pain as she laid gingerly on her back. I could tell she was grunting, but couldn't do anything to help the poor girl. " _How do you feel?"_ I asked instead.

Abigail was panting, a bandaged hand on her forehead. It took me a moment to realize she was talking as well and I quickly pulled out my phone. Nothing was coming up on it and I made myself wait until she was finished before catching Leah's eye and pointing to my phone. With a nod, she pulled hers from her purse. I guess she was telling me what Abigail said, as the one on the bed suddenly looked at me in an apologetic way. I looked down and started to read when my phone app swapped to a group setting, color coding Leah's words in a brownish red while Abigail's was in purple.

Leah: She said she's in a little bit of pain, but nothing too major. She wants to know how you're feeling mainly.

Abigail: Sorry, Kim. Yeah, I'm okay. Are you doing okay? Can you hear anything at all?

I shook my head sadly, making Abigail look like she was about to cry. " _What happened, Abby? What could have possibly hurt you so much and blown my eardrums like this?"_

Abigail: I'd rather not talk about it. It was a hard battle and I... couldn't protect you.

Leah: You did everything you could, Abby! No one could have done any better.

Abigail: I should have done better! It's my fault she's...

The words cut off as Abigail angrily slammed her phone onto the bed. The hand on her forehead was now covering her eyes, but I could still tell she was sobbing. Leah was rubbing her arm, saying soft words to her. Even though her phone wasn't near her face, I still looked at mine to see if they were registering.

Leah: Abby, you did everything you could, we all know that. You had no choice but to fight and none of us were prepared for that... Kim doesn't blame you, stop thinking that.

Did she blame herself for what happened to me? I instantly thought back to literally just before we went into the caves. Abigail was by me, whispering that she would do anything to make sure I never got hurt... and here we are. Half an hour after she made her promise, she not only got her butt kicked, but she had somehow allowed me to be hit as well. I felt a stinging in my chest and walked over to the bed to sit next to her. She turned away from me at once, but I still reached out to touch the arm covering her face. I was allowed to move it and saw the girl crying rather hard. Her cheeks were red and her eyes puffy. She was taking hard breaths as well, a sign that she was trying to force herself to stop. " _Abby,"_ I whispered, getting her attention. " _I don't know what happened, but I know you would never allow me to be hurt. I know deep down that you did everything for me, and that's probably why you're hurt the way you are. You did your best, and three weeks of silence is nothing compared to what would have happened if you weren't there._ "

My words seemed to make her cry more and I looked at Leah for support. She noticed and talked into her phone, my eyes darting down. " _Kim, why don't you take a nice bath? I think she just needs a little time."_ She smiled at me, and I felt the pain in my chest even more when I realized that this was probably the best idea. With a little nod, I gave Abigail a soft pet and moved away to my suitcase. I knew I was probably a wreck and didn't smell too good either. I had worn my outfit for a lengthy bus ride, an entire day and night running around a new town, and even went exploring in caves, a hospital and back to the hotel as well.

When I made it to the bathroom, I closed the door behind myself and looked at the tub. It was a Jacuzzi style one, with water jets all over it for a nice water massage. It was large and circular, having a place to even lay with an area to place a folded up towel for your head. I made use of this at once, filling it with hot water and moving to the shower to clean myself off first. I could almost feel the sand, dirt, and grime run down my body, especially from my hair. It was relaxing, but at the same time infuriating. I felt as if water had gotten in my ear and dulled the sound.

It took everything I had to not start shaking my head and rubbing my ear to fix the problem. My shampoo was just as bad, and it started to finally sink in just how much I hated this feeling. The shock was wearing off, and I was alone now with the results. I knew I had to keep myself in check, and forced my hands to finish cleaning my body. When I was finally clean, I went back to the Jacuzzi and stepped in. Adjusting the water a bit more, I laid in the spot cut out for it and even dropped some bath salts that were given to us by the hotel.

The soft, floral scent paired with the warm water would have normally calmed me, but the feeling in my head was still racking at my mind. I lifted water up and let it fall, the droplets falling into the sparkling water. I knew the sounds water drops made, and expected them when they landed. Nothing came, of course, and I felt tears come to my eyes. I felt sad, scared, and furious all at the same time. I just couldn't get used to this and I tried dropping my hand in the water. I didn't hear the splash. I tried again, harder this time, for the same results. I felt everything building inside me and my tears started to fall down my cheeks as I hit the water over and over, trying to get something, some kind of sound to come.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, stopping my next hit, and turned to see Leah bent over the bathtub with her arm outstretched. She didn't say anything, but the look on her face told me everything I needed to know. I stopped my assault and leaned forward, my face in my hands, and let out a small sob. " _Don't let Abby hear,_ " I requested as quietly as I could. My girlfriend left me and I turned my head to watch her. She leaned out the door, probably talking to Abigail, and then closed the door. Her fingers clicked up the other light switches in the room and her eyes briefly went upwards. She must have turned a vent fan on as well to help muffle my cries.

I returned to my own little world, sniffling and crying onto my hugged knees just barely out of the water. Leah's hands came to my shoulders and massaged them for me. At first I felt a little nervous with being naked in front of her, but the feeling passed with time. We were dating, and he's seen me in much sexier things than nude. That, and I could tell she was purposely trying not to look at me directly, keeping her eyes at other parts of the room. I gave her a soft thanks and she nodded at me, leaning forward to kiss my head. She stood to leave, but stopped to pull her phone from her pocket. She spoke into it and turned it so I could read: _The doctor said not to let water into your ears, so don't dunk your head._ I nodded at her and she slowly left the room. Sinking down to my neck, I gave a soft sigh. I wanted nothing more than to just sleep.

I allowed myself a long time in the bath before I finally stood up. The bath salts left my skin feeling particularly soft and pleasant. I dried myself off as best I could, blow drying my hair and combing it until it fell around me in a long waterfall. Deciding to leave it like this, I put on my clean clothes, which consisted of a very modest pair of green panties and a long tee that intentionally didn't cover one shoulder and went down to my knees. I padded my way out into the main room and my two girls looked over at me from the large king sized bed. Leah looked content seeing me with my hair down again, and Abigail looked rather surprised by it.

I leaned over to the green eyed girl first, giving her a long hug. I could tell she sniffed me, as I felt her nose nuzzle past my ear. " _Do I smell nice?_ " I asked her softly, getting a nod and a tight embrace. " _Go shower, you need one,_ " I teased her. She made a face at me but moved to stand up anyway. Her motion were strained, and I had to help her to even stay up. Her side made her wince and I could tell she was groaning. Two broken ribs... I couldn't imagine. " _Do you need help?_ " She shook her head and limped away from me. Leah chased after her, and after a little conversation, went into the bathroom with her.

I fell onto the bed and looked at the television, which already had the subtitles going on at the bottom. I gave a small smile and scooted closer to the headboard, wondering two things. The first was how well we would all sleep together in the same bed, and the other was if this hotel had good room service or not.

* * *

Dreaming? Was I dreaming again? I was in the caves once more, the damp, stagnant air all around me. I was cold, and sopping wet. I knew what was coming, but still wasn't ready for it. Abigail was running towards me, slashing her daggers wildly. Flame danced around her body, illuminating the area around us and making my clothes dry out painfully against me skin. She was relentless, eyes narrowed as she focused on landing her strikes. We struggles and grappled together, me trying my best to calm her down. Our bodied collided and fell, rolling over each other on the hard, unforgiving stone floor. I was pinned and held roughly with one hand, the other pulling back, fire and smoke engulfing her fist.

I felt the intake of air as my body jerked. I was dazed but laying on something soft now instead of the cold cave floors. I still felt the entanglement around me, and I panicked, moving as quickly as I could to get away. The hands tried to grab me again and I was screaming now, but the silence was all encompassing. I couldn't see anything, Abigail's flame no longer visible. Somehow I was caught in something as I was grabbed at; some type of net. I felt myself falling again, landing shortly with a thunk. I scraped against the floor, trying to crawl away when I saw the light come again.

Only this time it was from a lamp next to the bed in the hotel. I gasped for air as I pressed my back against the wall, feeling the sweat roll down my face and neck. Leah was talking to me, one hand extended as she slowly crawled along the bed. My eyes darted around and found Abigail already next to me, face contoured in pain as she held her side and moved to grab me with the other. _"Stay back!_ " I screamed before I could stop myself, jerking back falling over. I scrambled away from them both before my senses finally started to come back to my sleep hazed mind. I fell onto my back and looked up at the ceiling, gasping for air. " _A... A dream... It was a dream..._ "

I closed my eyes and started to collect myself. Leah was standing over me and carefully kneeling down. I felt her help lift me to a sitting position and leaned against her while trying to focus on reality. My breath was slowing down to a regular pace and Abigail was near me soon after, offering a bottle of water, which I took. After a few hard gulps, I sighed and rubbed my eyes. " _I'm sorry,_ " I spoke to them, shaking my head. " _Just... Just a really, really bad dream."_ I looked up to Abigail and watched her struggle to talk to me. I must have looked hopeless because she looked down after a moment in defeat. " _I'll be okay. Thank you._ "

I stood with their help and looked over at the clock by the bed, which was now completely messed up from my sudden outburst. The time was a little over four in the morning, but I knew there was no going back to sleep from this. Leah was already looking for her phone and after she found it, tapped furiously to bring up the deaf communication app. When it came up, she started talking into her phone and I moved the sheets around to find mine, finding it on the floor after it was knocked over. Bringing up my app and looking at the message, I began to read

Leah: What on earth did you dream about? Was it that bad? Are you okay now?

Abigail: You looked terrified when you saw me, did something happen?

" _I don't know, just... Bad dream._ " I rubbed the bridge of my nose. Worrying about Abigail fighting was making me struggle inside. I was the one who gave her the courage to apply to the adventurer guild, and I was the one who helped her on multiple occasions to keep her job. Now, she was cut, bruised, and beaten because of it. Did she resent me for it? Did she blame me for what happened? Why am I dreaming about Abigail being mad at me? " _I_ _can't go back to sleep... I think I'm going to go downstairs and walk around a bit."_

Leah: I'll go too.

Abigail: I can't sleep anymore either. Let's go to the casino and play some games and get breakfast?

I sighed, knowing full well that there was no way of talking them out of this. I gave a small nod, and we set about getting ready for our day.

* * *

The casino wasn't nearly as fun without all the sounds, I discovered. At least this time I had my girls next to me, and we walked around together at the games we could play. We only had a few more days before going back home and I at least wanted to have some good memories. Together we tackled both the craps table as well as the poker tables. I tried my hand at playing, but not being able to follow along generally made it less fun. Finally, after a few hours of this, we found a blackjack table that wasn't populated at all. We all three sat down and greeted our dealer with a smile. Cards were dealt and the simple hand motions of the game really sucked me into it.

We spent a long time at the table, getting free drinks and snacks from cute waitresses that I couldn't help but notice were in skin tight outfits. This didn't slip by my friends and I blushed furiously when Leah arched an eyebrow at me after catching me looking. In my defense, I had been looking at something else at the time, but my eyes wandered out of pure curiosity!

Once we had our fun, downed some more food at the buffet, and even tried some of Leah's vegetarian meal, I was finally ready to go back to the room. Along the way, we stopped at a small gift store and purchased some wireless headsets for their phones. After a small set up, and clipping the microphone/speaker combo over their ears, they could now speak normally and have my phone pick it up. Although great in theory, being around so much noise and chatter in the casino rendered them useless from all the garbled text on my phone.

When we made it back to our temporary home, room service had already come in and cleaned up, also giving us freshly washed sheets and a made up bed. I fell onto it at once, happy at the feeling of relaxing. Although I was used to waking up early, the days were taxing and the alcohol constantly being offered to us by scantily clad bunny girls didn't help any.

I felt the bed shift and Abigail laid next to me, on her back while making painful expressions as she did so. Leah laid on my other side and laid an arm over my stomach. I felt very secure between them, and sighed out happily. Even if we couldn't talk right now, I could tell what they were trying to say. They were here for me, and always would be. Closing my eyes, I decided that a small nap wouldn't be too bad. I felt myself drift off once more, head falling slightly to the side as sleep overtook me once more.


	5. Chapter 5

Seeing Pelican town come into view from the bus was both a welcome sight as well as one that made my stomach get a small knot in it. We had been gone for an entire week, and to top it all off, today was a Friday. Everyone gathered in saloon, and that meant the whole town would want to know about the girl's trip to the nearby casino town. I was still as deaf as you could get, though I had become a little more accustomed to it. Communicating was still an annoyance, but the ever present feeling of wanting to 'unplug' my ears was now gone. However, the more I thought about it, the more the feeling was coming back. When the bus stopped, we grabbed our luggage, and bid Pam a farewell.

 **Constellation V**

 **By: Satashi**

Despite my better desires, I knew I had to see Harvey first. Neither Leah nor Abigail would let me walk by the clinic, even though it hadn't been said yet. As we walked from the bus stop to town, I swallowed thickly as Abigail's house came into view. Caroline was sweeping the outdoor area and looked delighted when we came into view. I felt Abigail squeeze my hand and she walked ahead of us to spare me the trouble. Leah and I waved at her and got a wink in reply, the girl doing her best not to limp and wince in pain as she was hugged.

Leah took my other hand and gave me an encouraging nod. I nodded back and together we walked into the small clinic next door. Both Maru and Harvey were at the desk, looking over some kind of charts on clipboards and greeted us with wide smiles. They each were talking excitedly, looking at us both for a while before growing concerned when we didn't reply. " _I'm deaf._ " I said simply. I looked over at Leah and she smiled encouragingly. Letting her take over, she got us into a back room to be examined.

My girlfriend explained what happened, to the best of her knowledge, while Harvey looked into my ears with some kind of device. He scratched his chin and looked at me when done, which didn't make me feel any better. He looked over and up at Leah standing beside him on his roll around chair and spoke with her a moment. He then turned to me and crossed his arms, as if thinking. After a few moments he stood and walked over to a cabinet and took out a type of ear plug. He borrowed Leah's phone and spoke into it, making me look down at mine.

Leah: Okay Kim, I've looked at your records from the other hospital you were in and it seems like you're healing just fine. I do think it'll be roughly two weeks before you'll be able to hear again, but upon reaching that point, your inner ear will start to really itch while it heals itself over. You need to keep them out of water, out of the cold, and away from any loud noises. Wearing these will really help them be safe and avoid infection while they repair themselves. At this critical point, even some dust or dirt from your farm, or even rain from a storm, will hurt you. So change these plugs daily, and stay away from loud sounds.

I nodded at my phone while reading and then up at him to confirm it. He gave me a few sets of plugs and informed me via text that he'd order me more. We followed him and Maru back to the front of the clinic and bid our farewells. Together we went to my farm, pulling our luggage behind us. When it finally came into view, I was pleasantly shocked to see the new addition already looking very much near completion on the outside. There were several people all moving around and working quickly, led by Robin at the helm of it all. When the carpenter saw us, she broke into a wide smile and waved over her head to us.

" _Here we go again,"_ I told Leah with a light smile. She gave me a pat on the back and we met up with the girl walking towards us. At once the red head started talking, motioning with her hand to the house and looking really proud of herself. I really didn't feel like repeating myself all night long so I took a breath and told her what was up all in one fast go. When I was done, she was looking rather stumped indeed. She turned to face Leah, who was now talking as well. I let them finish and Robin took the offered phone.

Leah: Sorry to hear about that, Kim. I really hope everything goes fine on you recovery. Uhm, on the bright side, your house is coming along very well! For some reason, everything we do is just right, and we've had no mistakes or injuries or anything. It's almost like we have little guardian angels helping us while we work. At any rate, it's perfectly fine to live in, if you don't mind a dozen people walking in and out of your house constantly... It might be better if you could stay with a friend or so until then. You're always welcome at our house if you need. I'm sure Sebby wouldn't mind you crashing on his bed.

I blushed lightly at the thought, suddenly realizing Robin thought I didn't like guys. The Sebastian I knew would _definitely_ mind me sleeping in his bed. That and my girls would probably murder me if they knew I was doing that as well. I simply smiled in return and nodded. " _Thanks, I'll think on that. I'll be staying with Leah for now, but I'll be around my farm now that I'm back during the day._ "

Robin smiled and handed Leah back her phone before offering a small wave before going back to work. We also began our pathway back through the southern end of my farm, despite my burning desire to see the insides and the progress. I had decided to wait until it was done to look. I had already gone over all my plans, ideas, and blueprints with Robin before my vacation, and I trusted her to stick to them.

Leah's cottage came into view a while later, and I was starting to feel the sting of the walk in my legs and arms. If I was worn out, I could imagine Leah, who wasn't used to this at all. Currently I just wanted to crash out for a while, and then have a huge dinner, preferably with steak and... Oh man, living with Leah until my house was finished meant my dinners and probably my breakfast as well would be vegetarian friendly. I held back a slight groan at this and instead tried to look on the bright side. At least I'd be with someone while going through this. I don't think I could be alone on my farm all day and night without sound. It would drive me nuts.

Upon entering the small loft style house, I instantly felt better. Being in a familiar setting made me feel safe. The scent of her house was still the same, much like the forest itself, with the addition of a stronger cedar scent to it from the logs she liked to carve with. I would stay here for a few days, then with Abigail for a night if her parents were down for it, then back with Leah until my house was done. Although Abigail was opposed to only 'getting me for one night', she gave in when Leah and I both reminded her that she still lived with her parents.

When we got settled in, it was already starting to get to the point where we needed to go to the saloon for the night. Although I didn't want to, I knew I should. Leah was giving me the same look as the cold wind made sounds against her house. The trees were waving in the wind, and it was already getting dark out. Despite this, I did miss my friends, even if it meant a long night of passing around phones and looking at my screen. Finally I gave her a nod. " _Let's do it_." I put the earplugs in my ears to avoid any loud yelling from other people and took Leah's hand.

The outside was positively bitter cold, since she was right off a giant lake. The cold air from the mountains was blowing down right towards this area and I shivered hard from it. I felt some earmuffs being placed on my head and looked back at a smiling Leah. I didn't even see her grab them earlier and I felt a sudden spark inside myself again when a light fog came from her mouth. I smiled and turned away, taking a deep breath and giving a hard, shrill whistle that echoed through the valley. It didn't take long for Okami to be seen galloping towards us and he almost didn't slow down in time. His nose pressed against me and actually made me take a step back from the affection he was showing. I gave him a hug and ruffled his cold hair " _Hey boy, did you enjoy running around while I was gone? Yeah it's cold, I know, I'll buy a nice heater for your stable as soon as I can, okay?_ " He was nodding at me and nuzzling, making me give a little giggle. " _Think you could give us a ride?_ " I asked him. It felt odd again, not hearing myself talking or even his sounds. When he turned for me, I hopped up on his back, followed my Leah without any hesitation. The way to town was set and we galloped along, her hands around my waist.

I pondered what it would be like tonight. Everyone would want to talk about our vacation, and it would be me either looking at my phone or watching them talk. I shook my head and tried to push it out of my mind. Instead I focused on Leah behind me, as she suddenly leaned forward and hugged me. Her hands went around my waist and stayed her, her cheek nuzzling against my back. I briefly wondered what she was thinking. She had been there for me since the day I moved in, quite literally giving me my first meal when I was starving. Now here we were, house mates for the better part of a week after another week of staying in a hotel together with Abigail.

The other girl invaded my mind again, and I once again debated if dropping her off had been the right thing to do. Part of me still belittled myself for taking the easy way out, but the other part told me that there was nothing I could have done anyway. She would have to tell her parents she got hurt and me being there didn't matter much. Still, I wanted to be, and was curious if Abigail would even be there tonight.

My answer started to come as we reached the Saloon, a little later than normal. I knew there to be music playing, as well as people's loud voices as they called out to each other for another hard week's work well done. I grimaced at the door, but Leah's hands pulled me tightly back against her and I felt a little better. Together, we dismounted and I gave my horse a few pats to let him know it was good to wander around. The door to the saloon entered and everyone instantly turned to see who it was.

I had no idea if anything was said so I turned to Leah, who seemed to be answering someone. Her arm went over my shoulders and I watched the people's faces all go from cheerful to suddenly concerned. A few more moments passed and they relaxed a little more. Leah guided me to the arcade where Sam and Sebastian were already playing pool with Abigail on the Prairie King Arcade game. The two males looked up and met my eyes in turn, offering a smile. Sebastian took out his phone and tapped on it, giving me a lopsided smile. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out.

Sebastian has joined the chat.

Sebastian: Hey Kim, welcome back.

Sam has entered the chat.

Sam: Hey girl! Looking good as always!

I felt tears come to my eyes as I looked over at Abigail, who had her head slightly turned to me. Her Bluetooth ear piece was in and she was talking.

Abigail: I already told them. We're good to go.

Leah: Thanks Abby! I'm going to order us some food, what would you like, Kim?

" _Chili cheese burger, all the toppings, loaded fries, and a milkshake, strawberry."_ I grinned at her horrified expression, but she didn't protest. As she walked, I couldn't help but notice a slight wiggle in her hips that I hadn't seen before. Did she always walk like that? My phone buzzed again, calling my eyes towards it.

Sam: For some reason, I didn't expect you to talk.

Sebastian: She's deaf, not mute, you idiot.

Sam: Hey! Don't blame me, it's just weird! Hey Kim, is it weird? Must suck, huh?

Sam was still the same lovable idiot as always. I joined Abigail at the arcade, dropping in a coin and pressing my start button. The game was just beginning, and only on the second screen, so I didn't lose much in the way of coins. I set my jaw and focused on the cute little sprites going around and lost myself in it. Nothing from behind was distracting me, and even Abigail by my side didn't impede on my advancements. I was in the zone. I had ' _the glow'_. It was only me and the machine. Enemy after enemy, upgrade after upgrade, boss after boss, stage after stage. We were running down the wire now. Abigail had pumped in so many coins she was now on her last life with no way of continuing. I was out as well, not coming here with much to begin with.

The Final boss appeared and I saw my chance. Abigail must have seen it too, because she moved in front of the power up I needed to combine with my star to make fast work of the last guy. I grabbed it and hit my reserve item just as Abigail bit it. This was it! I was going to beat it! After eight and a half months, the game was going to be beaten! My eyes were wide, hand sweating on the joystick. Just a few more seconds and-

A hand on my shoulder startled me from my daze. Suddenly the real world came back around me and I realized that Sam had shaken me lightly since I couldn't hear that my dinner had arrived. This was also the few seconds' distraction that was needed for my character to get clipped by a stray projectile and spin around before falling over. The words _Game Over_ appeared on the screen and I stared at it in shock.

Abigail must have been having a complete fit next to me because Sam held up both his hands and backed off, looking quite scared. I just groaned out and rubbed my eyes. He didn't know, and it's not like I could hear him. I put a hand on Abigail's shoulder and she looked at me, face red. " _Next time,_ " I assured her.

The food was already on our usual little table in the arcade area. I was starving, and a little upset at the moment, and decided to take it out on my delicious dinner. It was a sloppy mess of a hamburger, and I didn't even care at the moment. I took a huge bite and moaned at the taste. I had missed the saloon food while we were gone and I came to realize that it had become a staple of my life now. Every Friday I was here. With my friends.

Looking around the table, I saw everyone laughing and talking. Even Sebastian looked like he was in a really good mood. He caught my eye and brought his phone up to his mouth, making my pocket buzz. Everyone turned to look at me and laugh. Abigail was laughing the most, and Leah leaned over to me, making my head turn a bit as she met my eye. I felt her lips by my cheek and I went stiff as her tongue flashed out to lick something off my cheek. I blushed furiously as everyone looked like they were cheering. I distracted myself by looking at my phone.

Sebastian: You have some mayo on your cheek, Kim

Abigail: Oooooh!

Leah: I got this.

Sebastian: Whoa! Calm down Leah!

Abigail: Hey, no seducing if I'm not there!

Sam: Wait, is Kim staying with Leah while her house is being worked on!?

The evening went by rather fast for me. Despite my temporary handicap, I found the night very enjoyable. I had a blast up until my phone gave me a low battery warning. I knew what that meant, and met Leah's eye. She and I were sharing a glass of wine and I didn't want to cut it short, but I was on a limit now.

I went to tell everyone goodbye and looked around for Abigail a bit before I found her outside when I looked out a window. I made my way to the front door and excused myself from everyone a moment before joining her. The cold wind made me shiver at once and she gladly accepted my body warmth next to hers. I put my hand on her back and rubbed, making the girl wince. " _Does your back hurt too?_ " I pondered. I went to lift her shirt up a bit to see any scratches on it, but she moved away from me so I couldn't. " _Abigail?_ " She was saying something and I took my phone back out, only to notice it was officially dead. " _Great. No juice."_ I sighed. " _Let me see your back?_ " She shook her head. " _Why not?_ " I asked her curiously.

Abigail looked a little hesitant and I step closer to her, touching the hem of her shirt. She looked at me with sad eyes before turning and looking away. Carefully, so no one would see us, I lifted the back of her shirt and almost dropped it at once. Her entire back was a giant bruise, her usual pale skin now purple and brown. I knew she was sensitive about her back since the incident, but I had thought it was just her ribs giving her trouble. Seeing this... What happened to her in those caves...?

The girl shook her head. Turning back around, she gave me an encouraging hug. I returned it carefully and she kissed my cheek. Her right hand came up to me and ran though my ponytail as she smiled longingly at me. She said something and I tilted my head, making her smile. Taking out her phone, she tapped on it before turning it to my face: Enjoy your stay with Leah tonight. You two had wine, I saw.

I blushed darkly, eyes wide. She didn't seem to mind, though, and laughed at me. Leah came outside at that moment and I followed Abigail's eyes to her. They each shared a few words, and I was kissed one more time, this time on my ear. My purple haired girlfriend waved at me and walked back into the saloon, leaving me standing outside with Leah under the moonlight. I took a slow, deep breath of the crisp fall air and looked up at the sky. The stars above Pelican town were bright, shining down with a promise of a good day and even better tomorrow. This little town had grown on me so much over the past few months, and every day still seemed like an adventure.

Leah took my hand and tilted her head to the side curiously. With a little smile, I shook my head which made my ponytail swing around behind me. I let Leah whistle for my horse this time, and was surprised when he came running up to us. I hopped up first and was joined by Leah along with a little assistance from myself. Together we trotted through the night and I couldn't help but flash back to a few months ago, when I had too much to drink and cried on my way home, trying to figure out my relationship. Now I felt a warm spot on my cheek and ear from Abigail, and two warm hands around my waist from Leah. I was still learning everything with this poly relationship, and I knew a few people in town didn't really approve of it, but it seemed more and more fitting each day. Each time I saw either of them, my heart fluttered.

I could feel Leah behind me laying her head on my back and I gave a small smile. " _I wonder what you're thinking about?_ " I said aloud to the silence around me. I knew she couldn't answer, and it made me feel a little curious how we would work out together over the next week. I wouldn't always have my phone on me at all times, and she would probably be really lost in her art, like normal. As we passed Haley and Emily's house, I looked over to the giant window in the front, seeing City Girl on the couch. She was looking at photos and laying them out on the table in front of herself. Sam's house was passed next and then we started to go into the light forest area by the town.

When we were out of sight from everyone, Leah finally answered my question in the only way she could. I felt her move my ponytail to the side and then, without any warning, her lips on my neck. I almost stumbled at first, but she held me tight. The spot was sucked on lightly and then licked before being sucked on even more, leaving a love mark. My breath caught as cold air came up my shirt, along with a hand that went palm down against my stomach. " _L-Leah..._?" I gasped, almost losing myself to her. I saw light coming from her dim phone screen that was about to die, and text on it that made my heart flutter. It was only one word, but it held more meaning than anything I could have possibly come up with: _Tonight?_

Leah's cottage was coming into view and I felt another nip at my neck. My mind was starting to stray and dismounting was really difficult with the sudden chill against my back. Leah came after me and closed the distance quickly, grabbing me and preventing me from talking with a kiss. I wasn't sure what she was thinking about while we were sipping our wine tonight, or what went through her mind while riding with me on my horse, but I didn't really mind. I was lost in her, and couldn't stop myself from scooping her into my arms, carrying her into the cottage. It was dark and cold, but I managed to find my way to her bed and almost fall onto it.

* * *

I awoke with a start, eyes snapping wide open. My body was tense and I was breathing hard through my nose, the memories of my nightmare fading from me once more. I kept myself still, telling myself it was just a dream to force my heartbeat to return to normal. My bed shifted lightly and I felt an arm drape over my side. Leah was next to me, breathing steadily with large breaths. I knew she was snoring, but for the first time, I was content not to hear. I felt all my uneasiness fall away while watching her in the moonlight. She had so many freckles across her face, scattered mainly across her nose. Her hair was a lovely reddish orange and over all looked so peaceful when she was sleeping. I couldn't help but to run my hand over her side, feeling her warmth and comfort as she reflexively hugged me closer to her. Her ex-boyfriend was a fool for letting this girl go.

I realized that my internal clock must have woken me from my nightmare when I saw her clock on her bedside reading five in the morning. I really needed to get to work, having been gone for a solid week now. There were probably weeds growing in all my plants, as well as the fact that with no mana, they were growing at a normal rate. This meant slightly less quality than my standard that everyone had come to know and love me for, but I was sure I could fix that. But before then, I needed to leave this girl and her bed. I had to leave these soft, warm covers and get dressed. Then trudge through the cold morning to work my land...

But I couldn't just go. Even if I left her a note explaining it, that jerk Kel had left her last time he was here. If she woke up without me here, what would she think? Those first few moments before she realized I was at my farm? The decision was pretty clear then. I had to either wake her up and tell her I was leaving, or let her sleep and leave when she got up on her own... But judging from our vacation and her usual habits, that wouldn't be for another four hours at least. That meant I really didn't have any other choice.

" _Leah,_ " I spoke out into the ever present silence around me. She stirred lightly, so I repeated her name, softer this time. Her blue eyes fluttered open and after a few seconds of waking up, she sank into her pillow with a blush across her smiling face. We each looked at the other for a good, long while. I hated that I had to go, but I knew she knew it as well. Her eyes closed and I was pulled in for a kiss. I shivered at the feeling of her body on mine, and wanted to just give in to her at that moment. I just might have if she didn't pull away from me first. I watched her slide out of bed and pad her way softly over to a dresser, where she took out some clothes to put on. When she was covered again, she not only fetched my suitcase, but started messing with the fireplace as well.

I took this time to get dressed myself, blushing furiously when I noticed her watching me. Her eyes trailed over my body and I felt my cheeks warm up at that gaze. It was longing and loving both at the same time. The fire was going now and she stood up to walk over to me. I got a smile, which I returned, and then a long kiss to the forehead. I felt her whisper something against my skin and my whole body grew warm. " _You too_ ," I breathed back to her. This made her smile and let me go to take a step back. I grabbed my phone off the table next to hers and started putting my socks and shoes on while Leah fussed around in the kitchen. By the time I was ready to go, she had a small snack prepared for me. She handed it over and then held up her sketchbook: _I'll come by for lunch,_ it said with a little heart by it. Nodding, I gave a small thanks and one more soft kiss before heading out the door.

When my farm came into view, I had a small sense of pride come up inside me. There was just something about coming home that made you feel nice. Upon entering, I did my best not to look to the left where several tools and boards were laying next to a hole cut in the wall. Instead, I went to my bedroom and changed from my vacation clothes into a warmer set of jeans and a long sleeved shirt. I adjusted my feather bracelet and did my hair up in its ponytail again after a fast brushing. After that, I emptied my suitcase and refilled it with clothes to take to Leah's house. I couldn't sleep here for another few days so I wanted to get a fresh start. Plus, if I was going to be over there for so long... I grabbed my lingerie as well... just in case.

When I made it back to my kitchen, I had a little parade of Junimo waiting for me. Their little bodies were all dancing around in a welcoming fashion, making me laugh out at them. " _Hey little guys,_ " I greeted them happily. " _Don't suppose you can magic my ears better can you?_ " They crossed their arms in an X over their heads and I grinned. " _Thought so. Oh well, two more weeks and I should be okay._ "

I made small chat with them as I made myself a super-fast breakfast, wrapping up some eggs and cheese in a tortilla so I could eat while walking around. I had Leah's snack stashed in my pocket for when I got hungry again in a few hours, so I wouldn't have to stop what I was doing. All in all my farm looked pretty nice. The ground was still wet from a sprinkling last night so I didn't need to water them, and what few weeds decided to try and grow were taken care off right as the sun started to really come up. By the time it had fully risen I was ready to plan out the next part of my day. Robin was already hard at it with her crew, having gotten there sometime when I wasn't looking. I gave her a large wave over my head, which she returned.

I then thought it might be a good idea to check my mail, and it was pretty full too. Flipping through the random adverts and coupons, I sorted out some bills as well as a few letters from people in the town, probably requests. I opened the one from the mayor first, reading over it while idly nibbling the amazing trail mix that Leah put together for me. As I read, I felt like I was suddenly in a panic. A _fair!?_ And to top it off, he wanted to me enter a grange display!? Well thank goodness I just found out about it after a week-long vacation!

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, running over all the possibilities in my mind. What could I do? Should I make a tent to sell something? But it was a fair, so would that be a bad idea? If it was to boost our town's appeal, then I should just focus on getting things for my grange display. I had to show everyone around what Pelican town was all about!

The next letter was from Gus over at the Saloon. He informed me that each year he provided free food at the fair for everyone, and if I could possibly donate anything on his list to help him out. I licked my lips and thought about it. I wasn't extremely hurting like I had been, but at the same time my parents were visiting soon, and that would put me a bit behind as well... But this was for a good cause, and everyone was so nice to me, I couldn't say no! Checking the list, I nodded to myself. I could supply over half of what he needed, which meant he wouldn't have to buy it from Jojamart in town either. I made a mental note to reply to him when I could.

I would have to go buy some seeds if I wanted to make it in time, and infuse them daily with my mana. Crossing my arms, I judged what I could do. ' _Better to see what my limits are now that I'm well rested._ ' I nodded to myself and retrieved my phone from inside, waving to the workers as they moved about. A sharp whistle later and I mounted Okami, galloping into town. Pierre should be opening up soon and I needed all the time I could get to make this work. As the town came into view, I spotted the man I wanted to see just outside his shop. He turned to me and I could instantly tell he wasn't too happy. " _Bad time?_ " I spoke, hopping down from my horse. I knew Abigail would have talked to them, so I took out my phone to bring up a messaging app. Handing it to him, he began to tap away and hand it back: _Abigail is hurt, you're hurt, and she still wants to be an adventurer. You both could have died!_

I looked over at him and I realized that he was mad because he cared. Somehow through all of this, we had become friends without me even realizing it. " _I'm sorry, but this was an exception. This isn't normal_." I handed him the phone back and waited. _So is anything else wrong with Abigail? She's been distant since she got home._

I mulled this over in my head. Honestly I wasn't sure about her. She's had moments where she wanted to say something but couldn't, and she's been excessively encouraging about Leah and myself as well. That, paired with the dreams I've been having, has really made me think something was wrong. Something happened to her in that cave that no one knew about, except for her. " _May I go talk with her?"_ I asked curiously before I changed my mind. I got a nod and I patted my horse as I went inside

The way to Abigail's room was pretty much second nature by now. I rounded the corner, trotted up the stairs, and first room to my left. I knocked on the closed door and suddenly felt dumb since I couldn't hear her anyway. Instead, I opened it just a little and peeked in. Abigail was sitting on the floor, playing a game and looking pretty annoyed. She turned and started to say something but softened when she saw it was me. I took this as a good sign and walked in, closing the door behind myself. I plopped on the bed behind her and placed my hands onto her shoulders, rubbing them gently. She paused the game and leaned back against the bed, allowing me to pamper her a little bit. She looked stressed and I could probably pinpoint it to the conversation she had with Pierre. " _Want to talk about it?_ " I asked softly.

Abigail sighed, I could tell from her shoulders slumping. Her phone was next to her and she picked it up, the app already open. I looked at my phone and froze in horror when I saw the words appear on it: _I think you should find another adventurer to go with you into the mines from now on._ She leaned forward out of my arms and began to play again. I could tell her shoulders were shaking slightly, and her game play was suffering horribly. It was her call to go with me or not, as she could always turn down the job. I had no say in the matter, other than requesting her by name when filling out the form for a bodyguard. Despite this, I chose to answer her the way I wanted to. " _No._ " My girlfriend stiffened and stopped playing all together, not even pausing her game again. " _I refuse._ " I stated more firmly.

She didn't look at me for the longest time before turning, eyes wet with tears. She looked positively angry, talking really fast to me. I hated it, but I broke eye contact to look at my phone as the words came: _I'm not good enough to protect you! Every single time we've been in a fight, I've almost let you die! I'm not capable of guarding you! I'm not capable of anything, I 'm just... just a failure. You would hate me if you knew..._

She was crying now, and I pulled her head to my lap. At first she resisted, but my second attempt made her cave in and fall against me. Both arms went around my waist and her head against my stomach. Her whole body shook and I had to resist the urge to rub her back in fear of hurting her. " _Tell me,_ " I requested of her, getting a shake of her head. My phone lit up and I looked at it: _I can't._ I took a deep breath and almost asked again, but more words came. I wasn't sure if she intended her phone to pick them up or not, as I only got a few words of what she was saying: _You'll hate me... never forgive... coward... sorry...can't... hate..._

I could pretty much put the pieces together now. She had failed to protect me and was blaming herself for it. She got hurt and allowed me to get knocked out, as well as a few cuts and scrapes along my body. Abigail was taking it hard, as I had never been quiet about how much I trusted her in these things. Ryou had been by my farm several times for the blackberries he loved so much, and I didn't even charge him for it. He trained Abigail, and when we were in the desert, he was there as well. He had to have saved me, not Abigail. Why else would she be like this now? My phone's screen came back to life and I looked: _Scared...coward... sorry... lying... It was me._

Was her? Was my phone missing the right words? She was shaking pretty hard, and I could feel the warm tears against my stomach through my shirt already. What was her? Did she save me after all? Or was she saying she was sorry for lying about it not being her? " _Abby, can you tell me what happened?_ " She shook her head furiously against me: _No choice! Sorry ...choice ...couldn't … Forgive me! Couldn't protect!_

I was seriously hating my ears right now, and was desperately trying to make sense of what was going on. I was no closer to figuring out what happened, and if anything, I was more confused now than I was twenty minutes ago. Heaving a sigh, I decided to let it go for now. She was in no position to talk, and I didn't want to force her. " _It's okay. Whatever it was. It's okay._ " Abigail hugged me tighter and I soothed out her hair. " _Shhhh, it's okay._ "

My girlfriend collected herself and moved back, wiping her eyes. My phone informed me that she was sorry for her outburst and I nodded at her. After a few more moments, she started to regain her composure. I gave her a light smile, which she returned with a little effort. She spoke into her phone fully this time for me: _I'm such a crybaby._ I was going to tell her that it wasn't true, but I couldn't really bring the words up. She had cried on me quite a few times now.

" _Last time we were in this situation, you threw me on your bed_ " I teased her, getting a laugh.

 _And Mom walked in_ , my phone told me. We both shared a laugh and I met her eyes for a brief moment. Before I could help myself, I grabbed her arms and pulled her back on top of me. We fell onto her bed and I looped my arms around her waist. At first, she looked a little shocked, but then softened. Her nose went into my hair, next to my neck, and I felt her take a long intake of air before saying something. As my phone was away, I had no idea what it was, so I just arched an eyebrow at her. I got a laugh and then she moved my head to the side with a nudge of her nose. I allowed this, but didn't feel anything after. I looked sideways at her and realized that I had small bruises from Leah on my neck. I was just about to ask her if she was alright with that, but she had a determined look on her face. I felt her mouth on my neck and then teeth lightly biting me. My eyes went wide as she sucked, hard and intentional. My wrists were pinned next to me, and I submitted to the sudden attack. I was sure I let out a moan, and her body reacted to it. Finally, after what seemed like minutes, she pulled back.

I laid on her bed, panting with a flushed face. She looked positively pleased with herself, and moved her phone to take a picture of me. I blushed at once, looking at her with a shocked expression. She was back to her normal self alright. My phone buzzed and I reached over for it, looking at the app, but realizing it was a group message.

Abigail: Step up your game, girl.

Abigail has added a picture to the chat.

Leah: Did you just hickey over my hickey!? Are those TEETH MARKS!?

I face palmed at the chat and felt the sting of the love mark even more when my shoulder moved.

Abigail: Consider yourself one-upped.

Leah: Oh? I still have another mark on her that you missed.

Kim: Leah, don't you DARE!

Leah: :D

Abigail looked at me and smiled, leaning over and kissing my nose. She pulled me off her bed and gave me a long, secure hug. Words whispered against my neck and I could feel what they were. " _You're welcome,_ " I got a tighter hug, meaning I guessed right. " _I should get going, though. You good now?"_ The girl nodded, slowly pulling back from me. We looked at each other a moment more before I made the move. Leaning forward, I put one arm behind her neck and kissed her fully. She responded in kind, one hand going to my butt to grab and pull my up the extra little bit from her two inch height advantage on me. I moaned into her mouth and felt a little embarrassed from the suddenness of it. Slowly, we pulled away from each other and I took a little pride in noticing she was a tad out of breath. Seems like I had cheered her up after all. I gave a little wave, which she returned, and turned to walk out of her room. Two steps later and I felt a solid _thwack_ of her palm on my butt, making me yelp out and hurry the rest of the way.

* * *

When I finally arrived back at Leah's cottage for the night, I found a large dinner already waiting on me. The smell of battered and fried fish hit me at once, followed by a waft of home cooked fries. I saw sides of bread and some type of flavored rice as well, paired with a small side salad complete with some of Leah's homemade dressings. I was in shock for a good bit, standing at the door with wide eyes. Once my girlfriend noticed me, she broke into a large smile and started talking to me. Her headset was already clipped over her ear and her words came to my screen: _Welcome back. I hope you're hungry._

I was more than a little starved, and truthfully, I was amazed at how much effort she had put into it. This had to have taken a long time, which meant less time for herself and on her work. " _How long did this take?_ " I asked finally.

Leah: Not too long. I used to cook for Kel every night. He was really big on having dinner when he got back from work since I didn't have a job.

" _Art was your job,_ " I protested as I sat down. Leah began to even fix my plate for me, spoiling me massively.

Leah: It's fine, that's in the past. Plus, I had plenty of time to work on Abby's birthday present as well.

Wait, birthday? " _When is her birthday!?_ " I shrieked. I had no idea when it was and I suddenly felt like a very bad girlfriend for it.

Leah: Not this Thursday but next. Would you like a drink? I make really good sweet tea.

" _Yes please."_

The night went by with pleasant conversation, up until the point where my phone died and I didn't want to stay next to the charger. Instead, I decided to watch Leah work on her birthday gift to Abigail. It was a painting of both Abigail and I, back to back, sharing a barstool. I saw the sketched out lines on it that she used as guide marks and could tell that we were wearing old western style clothing, complete with the corset, curly hair, and hats. We were both holding pistols and had sheriff style star badges on our chests. There were little nods to our favorite game's power ups littered in the background, and at the bottom of the painting had our names just above the words 'Legend of the Prairie Queens' in fancy script writing.

I contently watched her work for what seemed like hours before I knew I had to get in bed soon. I told her I was going to shower and got a nod, her eyes glazed over in her art mode. I simply giggled and got my clothes to take with me.

After a nice refreshing cleaning, I blow dried my hair and came back into the room. Leah hadn't moved an inch, eyes still on her works. Even when I kissed the back of her head, she didn't seem to flinch at all. " _I'm going to bed, Leah._ " I told her with a smile. Again she nodded and I climbed into our shared bed. This time in my pajamas. I took a long intake of fresh air and felt the relaxing warmth of the fire flickering in the fireplace. I had left all the lights on, but it didn't bother me, and I knew Leah needed them to work. I rolled on my side, facing her, and closed my eyes with a happy sigh. I was looking forward to finally getting another night's sleep without the nightmares that had been plaguing me for the past little while now that I had finally talked to Abigail. With another few breaths, I let sleep overtake me.

I didn't know how long I was out before I bolted upright in bed. I was panting heavily, as if starved of air. My shirt clung to me from the sweat rolling down my body and my hair matted against me. Leah was already by my side, rubbing my back and talking to me, even though I couldn't hear her. I had the dream again, the same one I've had for the past week and some days. It was making me sick to my stomach, and the lack of quality sleep was starting to really get to me. Turning to look at my girlfriend, I gave an unsure nod to show I was good. It didn't help ease her look at all, and I received a very welcome hug. It looked like things weren't resolved after all.

* * *

As the days passed, I felt the stress start to build more and more. Not having my home, not being able to sleep at night, and the everlasting feeling of something just being...wrong. As the time clicked down closer and closer to the fall fair, I was finally able to see my new addition to my house. Abigail and Leah had both come along with me, and we met Robin at my front door. All signs of construction were gone now. No sawdust on my porch, no tools laying around, no plastic covering the walls. It was amazing to see my place like this again, now with an extra room over to the side of the house.

Together, we all walked through my front door and to the left, where my living room was. On the wall, there now was a framed door that looked really new and more up to date than the rest of the house. It smelt of cedar and was stained to bring out an amazingly vibrant and beautiful wood grain surface. I found myself holding my breath as I touched the handle to it. Ever so slowly I turned it and walked into my new bedroom for the first time. The room was huge, spanning almost the entire length of my house, and wide enough to store everything that I would need. There were two large windows on the side to let in light, as well as multiple air ducts that I would make use of when I upgraded my house to central air next year. I had multiple electrical outlets along with wall, something the rest of the house lacked in earnest. I had more power strips than was safe, I was sure.

As we walked along the carpeted floor, I couldn't help but smile at how nice it felt. Although I loved hard wood floors, there was something about the bedroom and winter that turned me off to them. Now, I had a pleasant cushion beneath my feet, and I just knew it would be worth every penny I had paid. Near the end of the room was another door, going into my new bathroom. It housed a separate room for the toilet and a large area to shower, sectioned off by a glass wall with a matching door. Next to this was an excessively large bath tub. This is where I splurged my money, getting one that would accommodate me in almost any position while still being completely submerged. Finally, we had a double vanity with a granite counter top. I knew it would come in handy in the future, and the girls behind me were both looking at it with different expressions. Leah's was one of longing, while Abigail's was of confliction. I caught the look and when she noticed, the girl looked away.

" _I love it_ ," I finally told Robin. " _It's everything I had hoped for!_ " The carpenter looked beyond relieved. " _Now I just have to talk you into making me some furniture!"_ She laughed at that and looked around the room, rather proud of herself. She actually gave me a hug, which I returned. " _Thank you so much._ "

When the group was ready to split, I said my goodbyes to both Robin and Leah, before giving a whistle for my horse. Okami came bounding up to me and I climbed up, pulling Abigail along with me. She gave me a confused look, but held on as we went into town. I slowed down by Pierre's shop and let her hop off shortly before I joined her. " _I need medicine_ ," I told her simply, nodding to the clinic. " _You get some rest, I hear you have a birthday coming up._ " Her face looked delighted that I knew, but at the same time, there was that hint of reluctance, as if she was feeling guilty.

I gave her a small peck to the cheek and she smiled before going off into her home. As I turned to the clinic, I frowned to myself. My dreams were the key to her behavior, but I always woke up in a panic and was unable to fully remember them. The bell above the door chimed out and Maru greeted me with a smile. Before I could even say anything, she started scratching down on a notebook and turned it to me: _Your prescription came in this morning!_

I felt relieved and happily paid for it. Although I wanted to stay and chat, that would be too difficult, and it was already getting late. I mounted my horse outside and galloped all the way back home. The Junimo were all around again, now that the noise from the construction was gone, and greeted me with little waves of their arms. The smiles I gave them were genuine, and I realized just how much I missed them while I was away.

Walking to my bathroom, I looked at the pill bottle in my hand, reading the label in my mind. ' _For prevention of restless and uneasy sleep, take one pill thirty minutes before bed._ ' I unscrewed the bottle and shook out three of the blue pills onto my palm. ' _Tonight_ ,' I thought to myself, eying them in my palm. ' _I'm going to find out what my dreams are telling me, Abby.'_ I quickly took all three and flushed them down with water straight from the tap.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading everyone! Want to chat? I'm in the Stardew Discord server, or you can hit me up on Discord direct message: Kimi#8350 ! I'd love to hear from you!


	6. Chapter 6

Dreaming? I was dreaming. Back in the cave where all of this started. I could feel it this time; something cold looming around me, icy voices whispering into my head. ' _You're fine, keep going._ ' It told me, making me walk farther into the depths with my friends and our escort. ' _Keep going, have fun, don't stop now, don't turn back. You're cold but it's okay._ ' The voice was like a siren's song in my head, so soft that I hadn't noticed it at first. I looked around as we met up with Ryou and his group. I could feel something wrong, but couldn't quite place it. When I felt my energy start to fade and the cold take over, I fell forward, but stayed awake this time. Dark smoke covered my vision and I spoke in a tone that wasn't my own.

 **Constellation VI**

 **By: Satashi**

"Why are you here?" My words shocked everyone around me, including myself. I hadn't meant to say them, and I was realizing that I no longer had control of my body. "We have existed here for hundreds of years, why do you attack us now!?"

Ryou frowned hard, eying me with a determined gaze. His bow was already pulled back, looking for a chance to release the arrow. "Release the girl, and we will leave. We had no desire to bring war to your kind."

"No desire!?" I yelled at him, black mist flinging around me as I swung an arm out. "Still your tongue, archer! Your kind have hunted us for generations. I see no reason to think you want peace now."

Abigail sunk back to Leah and Matt while keeping an eye on the scene in front of herself. "Matt," She whispered to him softly. "When all hell breaks loose, I want you to take Leah and run to the entrance. Don't stop to fight anyone, don't let her back into the caves. Even if we don't come out."

Matt grunted, a hand on the sword by his hip. "You hired me to fight."

"I hired you to protect us, and you are bound to me by contract," Abigail shot back in a sharp whisper. "You will do as I say."

"Abigail," Leah's voice came up next, shaking slightly. "I don't want to leave, something is wrong with Kim."

"Aye," The purple haired girl gripped her fists tighter. "I'll bring her back. I promise."

The artist stood there silently for what seemed like an eternity. "...Please Abby, I'm counting on you." Taking a few steps backwards, she stoop behind Matt, who was looking at Abigail with a look of anger and annoyance.

"I can't believe this..." He spat under his breath. "Fine. I'll hold my end of the contract. But if you get hurt, it's on you."

Abigail looked over her shoulder, a smirk on her face. "Oh I know I'm going to get hurt." Walking forward, she joined Ryou again and stood next to him, unarmed. "Let her go. We can resolve this peacefully."

I glared at them, my body and mind no longer my own. "This body is mine now. I will use it to ensure your kind can no longer hurt us!"

"Like hell you will!"

"Abigail!" Ryou tried to grab the girl, but she moved too quick, running up at me with fire in her eyes.

I attacked against my will, lashing out with a kick that was nimbly dodged. She tried to grab me, but I turned my body, instead grabbing her arm and twisting it up and around her back. She grunted in pain and I pulled up more on it. "I'll kill you," I promised her.

At that moment screams rang around us as several shadow monsters started crawling from the walls and crevices of the floor. Matt made true on his promise and grabbed Leah's hand to run with her to safety. The remaining adventurers attacked at once, giving me the time needed to kick Abigail away and run and pursue the people fleeing to the entrance. Abigail chased after me at once and tackled me only after just a few steps. Together we rolled on the ground, grappling and grunting until her foot pressed up against my stomach and carefully pushed me up and over her.

I landed lightly on my feet and dusted off my shirt casually. "Interesting. You could have really hurt me there..." I felt the shadow probe into my mind, reading my thoughts and memories while I helplessly slept inside my own body. "...Abigail," She called the newfound name out.

Abigail scoffed. "I've heard of your kind...Stealing other people's bodies and minds... you're naught but a leech. You're nothing without someone else!" She ran forwards to me, but the shadow found another part of my mind at that moment.

I didn't move, only smiling as Abigail's fist reared back for a punch that stopped just short of hitting my face. "Oh ho..." I cooed out. "You really care for this girl, don't you?" I dodged another attempt at a grab and laughed at her. "And you're a _fire_ type aren't you!? This girl is a nature type, there's no way I can possibly beat you in a fair fight..." I walked to the edge of the giant hole in the ground that had the small pond below it. "I wonder... what are you willing to sacrifice for her?" I met her eyes and smirked right before I ran the last few steps to the edge and leapt off of it.

Abigail was hot on my heels, tackling me in midair and caressing me against her body tightly as she shifted so she would hit the water first. We made a sickening splashing sound as we hit, her back taking the majority of impact. The scream of pain in my ear was cut off by water, which muffled her agony and allowed me to swim away, pausing only when her hand grabbed the purse that was still slung over my shoulder. Shrugging it off, I surfaced and swam to the edge, climbing up onto the land. "Stupid..." I gasped for air. "...Nature types... no energy..."

Abigail coughed and spat out water as she slung herself up onto the cold cave floor as well. She dragged herself up, wincing and groaning. "Kim..."

"You're dedicated, I'll give you that...why, though, is the question?" Again I felt my mind being searched, and no matter how hard I tried not to think about anything, the more I tried not to, the more the answers came to the front of my thoughts. "Oh... OH!" I laughed heavily as Abigail pulled herself to her feet, holding my purse in one of her hands. "She _loves_ you!" I yelled out. "This is rich! What are you going to do, Abigail? Hurt the one that loves you?"

"Free her," Abigail shook the purse to make the straps fall to either side and unzipped it as I watched. Two daggers were pulled out and she dropped the bag at her feet. The cave lit up brightly as she ignited the blades and the area around herself in a brilliant flash of fire. "I'll smother you out of her!"

The girl lunged at me again, and I narrowed my eyes. The flames were blistering hot and the smoke burned my lungs, but it only took a few attacks for me to realize the end results. I couldn't fight her off like this, and the smoke would suffocate me and cause the demon in my body to be forced to escape. Although this was exactly what I, myself, wanted, the thing controlling me had other ideas.

I started moving into the attacks, pushing myself forwards to them and leaving myself open to be struck, even going out of my way to put myself in front of her blades. Abigail reacted exactly how I thought she would, and stilled her hands, not daring to cut me. "Let me tell you something," I spoke as I punched her in the stomach, making her double over. "When Kim was born, she had a different father."

I was screaming in my mind now, demanding my mouth to stay closed. ' _Don't bring that up! Don't talk about him!_ '

Abigail attacked again, and once more faltered when I put myself in line of her dagger. Taking the chance, I hit her again. "This person beat her mother." My mental demands meant nothing to the shadow-being controlling me, and she kicked Abigail's feet from under her. "When she was five, he beat Kim up after coming home drunk. When her mom found out, she divorced." I walked over to the struggling Abigail and knelt down cockily next to her to watch her strain to stand. "She swore to herself she would never let anything like that happen to her. If anyone ever hit her, she would ditch them instantly." Leaning over to whisper into the girl's ear, I smirked. "Are you going to hit me, Abigail? The girl who loves you?"

The purple haired girl screamed furiously, fire erupting around us in a circle. She forced herself to stand, panting heavily and wiping blood from her lip. Smoke started pouring in all around us and I began to cough violently. "You just need to pass out," She told me with hate in her voice. "I don't have to hurt her. I would _never_ hurt her."

I ran at her this time, punching and swinging wildly as she danced away, making the fire burn more. Black smoke was stinging my eyes and I stumbled, landing face first onto the stone floor. Damp moss cushioned my cheek as I tried to breathe, struggling to fill my lungs with much needed oxygen.

"Nature types aren't fighters," Abigail spoke above me as she looked down at my body. "Grow anything you want, I'll burn it all."

Grow! The moss under me extended and reformed into a long vine, which I grabbed and lashed upwards as a makeshift whip. The fire instantly snuffed itself out as Abigail screamed in pain, holding her face with both hands as blood gushed from the gash I had just created on her. "Burn this!" I lashed the whip again, grabbing her leg and jerking it out from underneath her.

My opponent grunted out as the hard floor met her already wounded back. Blood was flowing in a constant stream from the cuts on her face, just above and below her eye. I acted fast, running over to her, quickly lashing my whip around a large rock and infusing my mana into it to make it contract. This ripped the basketball sized rock from the wall and towards the girl on the ground. She realized my goal too late and let out a blood curdling scream as her ribs cracked under the blow.

I walked over to her slowly, watching in satisfaction as she coughed blood up from her mouth and coated her lips. "I've won." I told her.

"Ta...ke... me..." Abigail wheezed out in agony. Despite being beaten and bleeding, she still managed to roll the rock off her chest and get herself to her feet, her twin daggers still in her hands. "Just take _me_!" She shouted out, dark red liquid flecking her lips. One of her eyes was blinded by her own blood, and she could barely stand, let alone fight.

"If I tried to transfer to you, that archer up there would stick me with an arrow before I could even get to you." I walked towards her as she started to make smoke and flames come up around her feet and daggers again. "Stand down, or you'll die!"

"Then I'll die!" Abigail stumbled forward, her run faltering as she brought the flame to me again, thick billows of smoke swirling in the air around her.

I acted fast, grabbing her and slamming her against the wall. Pushing with all my might, I grabbed her neck and lifted her off her feet. She was pinned between the wall and me, held by her neck as she wheezed out to breathe. Her daggers lifted and she looked down at me once more. I could see it in her eyes. The fear of someone about to die. The desperation of self-preservation. "What are you going to do, Abigail!?" I screamed at her, tightening my grip around her throat with both hands. "Are you going to stab me? Are you going to save yourself!? Come then! Cut me! Just as you've cut down all the others!"

"...I'm so sorry." The words were almost a whisper. The next actions went so fast I could barely comprehend how they happened. Abigail flicked her wrists, flipping her daggers end over end and grabbing them by the blades. Her feet pushed against a foothold she found in the cave wall and lifted herself out of my grip. Then, she pulled both hands back and slammed the blunt end of her dagger handles against my ears. I heard a loud bursting sound from inside my skull, and then total silence as I started to black out. Just as I lost consciousness, a glowing white-hot arrow pierced the ground next to me, a shadowy demon dead with it.

* * *

Waking up was slugging and difficult. My head was a foggy mess and it seemed to take my mind a second or two to process the information my body was giving it. I forced myself to a sitting position and the world shifted along with me. I could barely think, let alone move. I could tell the sun was already up, but I didn't have the energy to hurry. ' _Why am I so tired?_ ' A soft moan came as I rubbed my eyes, trying to see straight. ' _That's right, I took the pills so I-Abby!_ ' I stared at the wall across from me in shock, mouth slightly open as I vividly recalled the dream I had. I knew it was real, and that my magic had been trying to tell me about it for weeks now. Abigail didn't get hurt fighting a monster... She got hurt fighting me.

The whole world lurched and turned as I tried to stumble out of bed. My sleep drunk state didn't help my racing mind while I simultaneously attempted to get dressed and think about what to do with Abigail. ' _It's my fault,_ ' I thought hazily, fumbling down my hallway to the front part of my house. ' _I cut her face... I cracked her ribs... I tried to kill her..._ ' The words repeated over and over in my. I attempted to put my boots on, but everything was still blurry. ' _I hurt her, she's blaming herself for it, I..._ ' I couldn't handle it anymore. A small sob came out of my mouth and I fell onto the couch, hugging a pillow close as I cried myself back into a dreamless, drugged sleep.

When I awoke a second time, it was to a gentle shaking of my shoulder. I came to much easier this time, and looked up at a grinning Leah next to me. She held up her phone and I instinctively read it: _Get up sleepy head! Did you decide for a little nap before lunch?_

I shook my head and sat up, rubbing my eyes with both hands and feeling incredibly refreshed. The clock on my wall told me it was a little past noon, which meant I had slept for another several hours. I could think straight now, and the brunt of what happened really hit me. Leaning forward, I cupped both hands into my palms and just started talking, telling Leah everything that had happened up until that point. When I was finished, I finally allowed myself to look over at her wide eyes. " _What do I do?_ " I asked of her, despite knowing the answer already. Leah looked around for my phone for a bit before picking it up off the floor and handing it to me.

Leah: You have to tell her.

" _I know, I just...What do you say? Hey, sorry for...for freaking cracking your ribs with a rock!?_ " I felt the tears coming back as I silently spoke the words. I remembered it so clearly. The whip in my hand, the mana I used, the feeling of gravity taking a hold of the stone. The... sound Abigail made when it happened. That scream echoed in my mind, amplified by the silence all around me. It made me want to throw up. As the seconds ticked by, I realized that the feeling was only growing more intense, and I scrambled to my bathroom, barely making it in time to lose whatever as left in my stomach.

I felt my ponytail be held behind me and my body lurched again, eyes squinted close as the image of Abigail's bloodied face came back to haunt me. Several undignified moments later, I finally nodded and pulled back. To my surprise, Leah already had a cup of water for me and a wet cloth. I took both and leaned over my sink, rinsing my mouth out. She didn't say anything to me, or at least I don't think she did. Instead, she simply rubbed my back while I tried to collect myself.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I allowed her to guide me back to the living room. I sat back onto the couch and finally put my other boot on, taking my time to adjust my jeans with it. When I looked up, I saw Leah's phone in front of me, a simple question on it: _Do you want me to cook you something for lunch and call her to come over so you two can talk? I can scoot out once she gets here?_

I shook my head. " _I should go to her, I don't feel right asking anything of her right now... even to see me._ "

Leah gave me a firm look, which was destroyed by having to tap on her phone again: _Don't you say that! She's worried herself sick over hitting you, and has still done everything in her power to help. You owe this to both of you. Now go talk to her._

This girl was way too good for me. I gave her a nod and received a hug back, one that gave me encouragement and love. I had told Leah I loved her, and I knew I loved Abigail as well. I don't know if I had the right to say it anymore, after what I had done to her, but I still had to say it. I was going to tell her today.

* * *

Standing in front of Pierre's shop, and looking up at the little balcony above it, made me suddenly have second thoughts. I couldn't get the images out of my mind. Blood coughing from her mouth, blinding her eye... I shook it off hard, steeling myself for what was to come. With some great effort, I walked into the story. Pierre greeted me cheerfully and I waved at him, trying to act calm. ' _I almost killed your daughter,'_ I thought as I walked to the counter. " _Hey, I have a list for things I need, can you look it over and text me?"_ I spoke the words and he nodded, taking the list from me. " _Mind if I visit Abigail a second? I have something I need to tell her._ " He nodded again, paying more attention to the list than the idea of his daughter's girlfriend.

I gave a soft tap on the door and was about to go in when Caroline passed me in the hall. I smiled at her and went over when she motioned. She looked a little helpless so I took out my phone, opened a text message to nobody, and handed it to her. After a moment I was handed it back and I looked down at the words: _Abby is in the shower from training. You can wait for her in her room if you'd like._

I smiled and nodded at her, pocketing my phone with a little wave. Abigail's room was the same as always, semi clean but messy- much like my room back home. I saw the clothes she wore today thrown on the floor and smiled at them. Black leggings and a short purple dress, complete with a belt. It was simple and plain, but was easy to move around in. I moved over to her bed and sat on it, as I had many times before. It was soft and comfortable, and I wondered if I'd ever sleep in it myself. Especially after today.

Laying back onto the bed, I looked up at the ceiling and pondered just what exactly I would say. The words didn't come to mind and I swallowed thickly, almost debating if I could still run out or not. This idea was shot down when the door opened and a towel clad Abigail came into her room. Her hair was partly dry, probably from her blow dryer, but her body still had water droplets running down it. She looked startled when she saw me and instantly held the towel closer to herself. Although she wasn't shy to show me her body, as I had several pictures of it already, she clearly didn't want me to look at her now.

Before she could get some clothes, I held out my hand to her. " _Come here?_ " I asked softly. She must have heard the pain in my voice because she almost ran to my side, eyes wide with worry. Abigail looked at me and I averted my eyes, instead looking at her cheek. The cut was healing nicely, and was barely noticeable anymore. I couldn't help but reach up and cup her face in my palm, inspecting the healing wound closer. I remembered lashing out a vine whip, gashing her face, and the amount of blood spewing from the cuts...

Abigail looked to the side and went to reach for her phone, but I held her. I turned lightly to lay her onto the bed and reached to where she had rolled her towel above her breasts to keep it from falling down. Her hands instantly shot to mine and held them tightly, her head shaking in a negative fashion. " _Please._ " I spoke softly again, feeling the tears well up in my eyes. My girlfriend hesitated before simply looking away, her hand going slack around the towel. I had to see it, but at the same time knew I didn't want to. My breath held lightly as I moved the fabric, my heart feeling crushed as I saw the damage I had done. She would be scarred for sure, having several cuts and a yellowish brown bruised area that seemed to refuse to heal quickly.

I saw the tears drop onto her stomach before I realized I had even shed them. " _I'm sorry,_ " I said, unsure if my voice was even audible or not as it caught in my throat. " _I'm so, so sorry..."_ I leaned over the surprised girl and rested my forehead on her chest, just under her neck. My hands gripped the sheets on either side of her and I let out a sob that I tried my best to repress. Her hands went around my body and I collapsed against her, crying in earnest now. I felt her rub my back soothingly as I unloaded my tears onto her, unable to stop myself. I felt like everything stopped as I cried. The pain in my throat, the headache, the stinging in my heart, it all seemed amplified when I thought what she could possibly be feeling at this moment. She was so worried about hitting me that she didn't even consider everything I had done to her.

When I was finally able to look up at her, I saw a concerned face and caring eyes. It took everything I had to get out the two words that I needed to say: _"I know._ " Confusion hit her first, making her blink at me a moment before the real reaction of fear and panic came. She was talking now, face red and eyes watering as she spilled her emotions onto deaf ears. When she realized this, she looked as if her whole world broke apart in front of herself. She was starting to cry as well now and I realized that I had made her cry so many times since we met. " _I don't deserve you,_ " I whispered, hugging her as tight as I dared. _"I almost killed you."_

I was forcefully pulled away and held so I had no choice but to face her. She spoke to me again, and somehow I managed to catch it: _Don't you dare say that._

Falling back onto her, I sniffed and let myself go again as she rubbed my back. I'm not sure how long we stayed like this, but when I could think straight again, my head was killing me. I had always hated crying, and twice in one day really didn't do well for my body. I risked a look at Abigail, who returned it with a soft, caring smile. She looked over on her night stand and then back at me, getting a nod. Her hand reached over and stretched for her phone. After a failed attempt, she shifted and pulled it closer to herself. The app was brought up and I reached into my pocket as well.

Abigail: I'm so sorry I hit you. I feel so bad for it! Please forgive me!

"Y _ou idiot, you saved my life. Being deaf for a few weeks is nothing compared to that._ "

Abigail: If I was more skilled I could have done something different.

" _Like what? I had to go to sleep, or the monster thing wouldn't have been able to leave me. You did what you thought was best._ "

Abigail: But what you said about...

" _My father? We'll talk about that when I can hear you again. For now, know that I don't even consider that anything like what happened. You saved me. Period."_

Abigail: Okay...

" _About what I did..._ " My girlfriend raised her hand, cutting me off. " _But Abby,_ " She gave me a look that made me relent my words.

Abigail: That wasn't you. It was someone controlling your body. End of story. I have seen them before, I know all about them. Kim, that wasn't you. You didn't hurt me. You didn't attack me. You didn't fight me.

I sighed and laid on top of her again, as much as I dared with her wound. I knew what she said was true, but seeing it through my own eyes... remembering what my body did to make those moves...seemed way to real to just let slide. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get over this. She had saved me from myself, and blamed herself for me taking a hit. She risked her life for me, and belittled her own abilities. She even offered herself to a demon just to free me...

" _Abigail,"_ I sat up and startled her from the sudden movement. After a second for her to collect herself, I looked deep into her eyes. " _I love you._ " I couldn't even describe her emotions if I tried. Everything from shock to pure love flashed all at once Finally she opened her mouth to reply, then hesitated. I suddenly felt scared, but a soft smile soothed my worries. I wouldn't hear her if she said it, and text wasn't how either of us wanted it. " _I'll wait,_ " I told her gently. She nodded at me and moved a hand around to my neck, pulling me in for a gentle kiss.


End file.
